Project Freelancer: Uncertainty
by Phantom117
Summary: We see project freelancer get a new agent. The Director hand picked him. Even gave him an A.I. his first week. Why? That is the question all the top agents are asking. Why does this recruit get special treatment? Guess that you'll have to read to find out.
1. Chapter 1

_It's an all-out warzone. Shots ring out, screams cam be heard. One squad against a thousand, the odds are slim. There's mud everywhere. It's thick. So thick that it makes vehicle usage unthinkable. One man stands alone, separated from his squad. He's about, 19-20, has short brown hair, and is very unsure about himself. His name is Seth, he is trying to get into the base. The mud slows him down though. The only mistake the enemy makes when they face him? They think he is incapable. But his skill will soon shine through._

"This is the worst plan ever, of all time." Seth said. He was crouched behind a boulder, just large enough to hide his also large, body frame. His squad was supposed to be creating a diversion. The sound of gunfire that was too close to him, told him they had failed.

He heard slurping noises, and leaned his head out, from behind the boulder. He saw three innies, or insurrectionists. They didn't know where he was, but they would find him soon. They were equipped with standard issue assault rifles.

Seth slid a clip into his Battle Rifle, and readied himself. He jumped out from behind the rock, surprising the enemy soldiers. He aimed through his scope, and landed three bursts directly into the three soldiers heads. They fell in tandem, before Seth moved forward.

He saw his squad. They were pinned down. The innies had pressed them hard. His squad wasn't giving up though. Seth fired burst after burst, and emptied clip after clip, providing support. He made sure the innies didn't see where he was, by switching between cover often. He was stopped however, when a punch that almost broke his skull, threw him onto the ground.

He groaned, and laid in the thick mud. He was picked up by a very large man. He was wearing brown armor, which was why Seth hadn't seen him. The armor the innies were wearing blended with the mud so well. You couldn't see them until it was too late. The brute of a man had him by the throat.

He started to squeeze Seth, putting him in a death hug. Seth was slowly losing his breath, and the man was strong enough to break his bones. Seth let instinct take over, and pulled his knees to his chest. He then, planted his feet on the man's chest, and kicked as hard as the death hug would allow him.

Seth wasn't small, and he wasn't weak. But he also wasn't the strongest man alive. The kick had made the man drop Seth, but that was all it did. The man didn't even stumble back. Seth stood up, and took a fighting stance. The large man ran straight at him.

Seth half sidestepped, half slid, out of the man's way. The large man carried a lot of momentum. If Seth got hit straight on, he feared that would be it. When the man tried to stop, he slipped, and fell. Then he got back up, and got ready to charge again. But, this time Seth had a plan.

As the man was about to crush him, Seth sidestepped again. The man tried to stop, and fell again Seth ran him, gaining his own momentum. He unleashed a very hard, two handed blow, to the man's head. He staggered back. Seth noticed this, and body slammed him.

The fact he was dazed, and with the slick mud, caused the man to fall flat on his back. Seth searched his surroundings for his BR. The man had started slowly getting up, when Seth spotted his rifle. He sprinted over to it. It was covered in mud, and was hard to pick up. Seth managed to get a grip on it, and pointed it at the innie. The man was almost on his feet, and Seth had a clear shot at his head.

He held his breath, and pulled the trigger.

**A/N**

**I know it doesn't have anything to do with RvB yet, but it will! Trust me! Just keep reading, it gets better.**

**Tex: Were not even in it dipshit.**

**Me: I know that, I wrote it.**

**Tex: Well, it's a Project Freelancer Fic, and I'm not even in it? Nice job dickhead.**

**Me: What do you mean you? All the other freelancers are going to be In it, not just you.**

**Tex: So is it a Freelancer Fic, or not?**

**Me: YES! FOR THE LAST GODAMN TIME! YES!**

**Tex: Hey, your problem, not mine.**

**Me: Problem?! You're my fucking problem you bitch!**

**Tex: (Knuckle cracking noises.)**

**Me: uh-oh. I think I(Warthog flies over head) Where the HELL did you get a Warthog?!**

**(Scorpion flies over head.)**

**Me: A TANK?! REALLY?! Ok, I'm ending this!**

**Tex: You better not end thi-**


	2. Chapter 2

"Sonofabitch" Seth mumbled. The mud had gotten everywhere on, and in, his rifle. It now refused to fire. He tossed the useless rifle down, and looked at his enemy. He could tell by the man's body language, he was extremely pissed off.

He looked like he wanted to tear Seth limb from limb. He could probably do it to. Seth was defenseless, as the man charged again. He raised his arms in front of his face, a useless effort. But before the innie charged into him, Seth heard a single, shotgun blast from behind him.

The innie stumbled back, as the buckshot ripped holes in his armor. Seth exhaled a breath, he hadn't realized he was holding. He turned around and saw the Sargent of his squad.

"You just got Sarged." The older man said, before lowering his shotgun.

"Sarge, what happened? Are the others okay?" Seth asked, worried for his squad.

"There was a lot more of em than our Intel said. They pushed us back. That goddamn mud doesn't helo much either." Seth nodded in agreement.

"So, what's the plan sir?"

"We stick to the original plan. We provide cover fire, you get your ass in that base!"

"But you guys will be torn to shreds!" The Sargent chuckled at this.

"Please, have a little faith! We will get it done. Trust me."

Seth went back to his side of the mud pit, while the Sargent rejoined their squad. He had been Seth's Sargent from the beginning. He could remember the day Seth was assigned to his squad. All of his soldiers thought Seth was useless, and weak. They were sadly mistaken.

Seth had become his right hand man, always happy, telling jokes. He was serious when need be though. The Sargent sighed. The kid who had been everyone's friend, always happy, and faithful, had changed.

Seth had seen many of his comrades killed in battle. Each one left its mental scars. He looked over, to his soldier. Seth was bruised and battered. He wasn't happy anymore. That's what war does. The friend the Sarge had known was gone.

Seth nodded to his Sargent, the signal for their final assault. His squad began firing. This drew the attention of every, single, innie. Seth moved forward, using anything for cover. He eventually made it to the base. Before he entered, he looked back.

His squad was doing bad. They were pinned, again, and were taking major hits. They couldn't, they wouldn't, last long. Seth turned back, and entered the base.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Seth crept down a long, dimly lit hallway. He was careful to be very quiet. He didn't want them to know he was here. The coordinates indicated the objective was a floor below him. Seth came to a stairwell, and stopped.

There was a man, standing over the railing, facing away from Seth. He slowly walked up behind the man. He paced one had, over the soldiers mouth, and the the other at the back of his head. With one quick motion, Seth snapped the man's neck.

It was a silent kill. Seth picked up a magnum the soldier had dropped. He continued down the stairs, and toward the objective. He entered a large room, it was huge. The objective was supposed to be located in this room.

The room was full of computers, and crates. Some of the crates had the word EXPLOSIVE, labeled across the side. He steered clear of those. The computer consoles made the room like a maze. He walked to the center, which was empty, except for an anti-gravity chamber in the middle.

Seth assumed that was it. He walked up to it, and disengaged the anti-gravity field. A medium sized, oval shaped container. It was a light purple, and lights pulsated along the sides. Then, bullets ripped through the air.

Seth ducked behind a computer console for cover. He peeked out, and saw a cat walk the overlooked the room. A man was standing on it, with an assault rifle. He saw Seth, and fired again. Seth rolled to another computer console. Eventually, the man grew tired of waiting, and jumped down, to finish his prey.

He walked slowly; he couldn't tell where Seth was. Seth leaned out from the computer, and saw the man facing away from him. He stood up, and drew his magnum. The man turned around and smiled. This wasn't a friendly smile however. It was a "I'm going to kill you and your family" smile.

Seth fired two shots. They both hit the man's chest. He fell to his knees, in pain. He started laughing. Seth was worried about that. He had good reason to be. The man pulled out two grenades, pulled the pins, and rolled them to his left.

Seth looked to the grenades, and the EXPLOSIVE crates.

"Sonofa-" Seth was cut off by two small explosions, and one, big, BOOM.


	3. Chapter 3

Seth woke up to pounding headache. He wondered how he had survived the explosion. That last thing he remembered was a burning, all around his body. He opened his eyes, only to shut them again. There were white lights pointed at him, and they burned his eyes. Careful not to look at the lights, he opened his eyes again. He found himself in a large room. It looked like a medical bay. There were beds (one of which he was lying on) and other medical equipment. He shuddered. Seth hated hospitals, and hospital oriented buildings. They reminded of sickness and death. He didn't like killing, he only did it when he had too. His thoughts were interrupted when a nurse walked into the room.

Seth felt a wave of fear wash over him. For the first time he thought about his situation. He didn't know where he was. For all he knew he could be at an insurrectionist base. They could be getting ready to interrogate him. The nurse walked up to his bed and looked at him.

"Good, you're awake." She said smiling at him. She looked like any normal nurse. She wore a white coat, and had her hair in a bun.

"Where am I?" Seth asked her, slightly nervous. She didn't answer him right away; she just looked at a computer screen with wires that ran to pads stuck to his chest and back.

"The counselor will be in shortly." She finally said. She then proceeded to walk out of the medical bay. Seth laid his head back the pillow, and sighed. He began to think none of this was worth it; sure, he joined the army knowing it was gonna be tuff as all hell, but this? He got blown up, and his squad was more than likely dead. He wondered if the objective was worth it. He highly doubted it.

No inanimate object was worth a man's life, let alone whole squad's lives. His thoughts were interrupted when the door to the med bay opened again. A man walked in. He wore a blue and black tracksuit. He was African American, and stood with his hands behind his back.

"Hello." His voice was eerily calm. "I am the counselor. Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah, where am i?"

"You are currently, in our medical bay." The counselor said, still using the calm voice. Seth remembered the second's right before he had been blown up. He shuddered just thinking about it. He could hear his vitals spike, just by thinking about it.

"What was that thing that retrieved?" Seth asked.

"That…is classified." The counselor stated, still using the calm voice. Seth knew something wasn't right about him. "You have a mild concussion, and had to have shrapnel removed from your back. You will be permitted to leave the medical bay in fourteen hours." The counselor added.

"What am I supposed to do till then?" Seth asked.

"I would suggest that you get some sleep." The counselor replied, before leaving again.

Seth was extremely confused. How had he even survived the explosion? Where the hell was he even at? The thing that scared him the most was the way the counselor said he should get some sleep. Almost hinting something. He sighed, and tried to go to sleep. It was nearly impossible. He was too scared to sleep. People usually think that if you're in the army, you don't feel emotions anymore. This wasn't true. He was allowed into the army, was because of his skills. He was an O.K. shot, except with sniper rifles. He sucked ass with one of those.

He was pretty good in hand to hand combat, being pretty strong. Seth was tall, and very strong for his age. His face still looked like a teenagers though. He was able to dodge a fair amount punches, and land a good few at the same time. This didn't mean he couldn't take a punch though.

Seth eventually fell asleep, in his thoughts. It was not a peaceful sleep however. His night was filled with nightmares of all kinds. But, there was one thing they all had in common. The coming day.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Seth awoke to voices. He couldn't make out what they were saying, just that it was a man and a woman. He heard a door open, then close. He looked toward the door, to see a nurse coming to him. It was the same nurse from last time. She started disconnecting wires from him.

"You are fine to get up and walk around, just be careful of your shoulder." The nurse said to him.

Seth wondered what was wrong with his shoulder. He stood up and immediately felt a burning all around I his shoulder. He looked at it with disbelief. It was beat red, and blistered.

"Most of your burns were focused on that shoulder." The nurse said, seeing him looking at it. "The pain should dissipate over time, but the burn scars will be there forever"

"Thanks." He said to her "Where am I supposed to go now?" The nurse didn't respond. They both stood there in silence for a few minutes. Then the door to the med bay opened. The man calling himself the counselor walked in.

"If you would please come with me." He said to Seth, calmly. Seth walked up behind the counselor.

He followed him out of the med bay. They entered a hallway. Seth noticed how clean everything was. It was spotless everywhere. After about five minutes of walking, they came to a door. It had and a hand scanner on it.

The counselor put his on it, and it whirred. After a couple of seconds a female mechanical voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Welcome back counselor." She said. The door opened and they both walked in .It was a medium sized room. There was a very large computer at the back end, There was a man standing in front of it.

"Director, our…..Friend…..is here." The counselor said.

The man, who Seth guessed was the Director, turned to look at them. He wore a tracksuit, and glasses. He had a goatee and stood with his hands behind his back. He looked at Seth. He seemed to be sizing him up. After a while of uncomfortable staring, he spoke.

"I would like to thank you for retrieving our package for us." He spoke in a southern drawl. "It was of upmost importance that we got it back."

Seth was confused. How did this man know about the objective? Suddenly, a grave realization crashed over him.

"You're the one who-" Seth was cut off by the Director.

"Ordered your squad to attack the insurrectionist base." He finished.

Seth felt anger wash over him. He wanted to tear this man apart. He let Seth's squad die for, for what? What was so important that they had to die for.

"You…..let them die." Seth said, taking a threatening step toward the Director.

"Actually," He said, a bit annoyed. "My team saved them."

Seth felt relief knowing they were alive.

"Then why didn't you just send YOUR team in." Seth said, a sharpness in his voice.

"My team was…..preoccupied." The Director replied.

"Ok, so what now?" Seth asked nernously.

"You will come with me" A calm voice said.

"HOLY SHIT!" Seth jumped, forgetting that the counselor was behind him. They both exited the room, and took a different hallway. They walked for a while. Damn. This place is huge, Seth thought. After walking for about 5 minutes, they came to a hallway with many doors on both sides.

As they went past, Seth noticed there were nametags on the doors. He caught what one said, it had WASHINGTON/MAINE, on it. They kept moving, until they came to an unmarked door. The Counselor motioned for Seth to open it. He did, and looked inside.

There was a bed, and a bathroom. It wasn't necessarily small, but it wasn't very big either. That's when he noticed it. A closet door, although it looked weird. He walked closer and inspected it. It was made of metal, and had a blue button next to it.

Well, blue buttons never hurt anybody, only red ones, right? Seth thought to himself. He pressed the button, and the door slid open. Inside was a full suite of body armor. It looked like modified Spartan armor.

It had a large visor, and was midnight black, with white ice highlights. Seth turned, and saw a slight grin, on the calm man's lips.

"Welcome, to Project: Freelancer."


	4. Chapter 4

Seth sat on his bed, cross legged. He had his armor laid out, in pieces, in front of him. It really was a nice suite. Seth inspected each piece carefully. It was a lot nicer than his old, UNSC armor, and more advanced. He could tell it was brand new. His old armor had been pre owned.

He had heard some rumors about Project: Freelancer. They were the best of the best (other than Spartans) and were pretty badass. He wondered why they had even recruited him. They usually only recruited the best of the best. He wasn't that.

Sure he had skill. He could handle a rifle, hit some targets. He could take a punch, and give some. The fact was, he wasn't special. There had to be something else going on. Maybe they just needed more people. He wasn't sure.

Seth looked up from the armor, and scanned they room. The bathroom had a toilet and a shower. The cabinets had some medical supplies in them. The room itself was pretty self-explanatory. The walls were bare, and had no windows. The ceiling and walls were the same color. There also was dresser with clothes in it.

The clothes weren't his though. He assumed that Project: Freelancer had given them to him. Seth wasn't sure what to do next. The Counselor had just left him in his room. He decided to just wait. After a little while of sitting in silence, knock came from his door. He stood up and opened it. The Counselor stood before him.

"The Director has issued that you should be given a tour." The Counselor said, hands behind his back.

Seth followed the Counselor out the door, and down the hall. They both stopped, when they reached a set of double doors. Seth walked inside to see a mess hall. Soldiers were getting food, chatting idly. There were tables and chairs scattered around the room. The Counselor told Seth that they were moving on.

Their next stop was the training floor. They were in a sort of, observation deck. It was small, but looked out over the training floor. There was a large console of buttons. These controlled the training floor modes.

"We have a state of the art, training room." The Counselor informed Seth. "It has multiple functions, like hand to hand combat, lock down paint, and zero-G training."

"That is incredible." Seth breathed

"You are only to train between the hours of 10:00 and 11:00 P.M." The Counselor said.

"Why?"

"The Director doesn't want you training with, or around the other agents yet. He wants you to keep your distance from them for the time being."

Seth was puzzled was the Counselors words. But those were the Directors orders. Since the Director was in charge, he had to obey those commands. The Counselor led Seth back to his room. He told Seth that he was to begin training, in full armor the next day.

Seth shut the door to his room, and sighed. Why would the Director make his training sessions so late? Why was he not allowed to see the other agents? He picked up a data pad the Counselor had given him. It had his schedule on it.

Except for meals, and his training, he was supposed to stay in his room all day. That wasn't right. What was he supposed to do all day, twiddle his thumbs? He guessed that he would he just have to deal with it.

There was a note at the bottom of the pad, it read:

AGENT IS TO GET MEALS WESRING FULL ARMOR, AND EAT IN ROOM. AGENT IS TO HAVE NO AFFILIATIONS WITH OTHER AGENTS.

Great, more quality room time. Seth sighed, and laid down on his bed. He thought about his life, and the past couple of days. His life was a mess. He had just got recruited into one of the most secret organizations of all time, for no reason. That was not a good sign. He eventually drifted off into sleep, thinking about how weird his life had become.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Beep, Beep, Beep!"

Seth woke up to his alarm clock. He groaned, and sat up. Waking up in his new room was weird. He stood up, and went to the bathroom. He took along shower. He then attempted to get his armor on. He had no idea how to put it on. Eventually he had everything on, except the helmet.

He put it on. Nothing happened. No HUD or enhanced vision, it was just like looking through glass. He glanced at his clock and cursed. Breakfast ended in twenty minutes. He ran out of his room and down the hall. He would be damned before he missed breakfast. Seth vaguely remembered the path to the mess hall. He got to the double doors with ten minutes to spare.

He entered the mess hall and picked up a tray. He got in line behind some soldiers, and waited. After a while, he felt as if he was being watched. He turned around, and went cold.

A whole table of people were staring at him. They weren't in any armor, just P.J.s, and were just staring at him. There were five males, and three females. One male was very large, had a bald head,and was very intimidating. One of the females also caught his eye. She had bleach blonde hair, and was wearing purple pajamas.

Seth turned back around quickly. He got his food, and left, heading for his room.

OOOOOOOOO

York walked into the mess hall and sat with his teammates. Wash was to his left, and Carolina to his left. South was next to Wash, and North was across the table from South. Maine was next to South, and Wyoming next to Maine. Tex was next to Wyoming. Wash was sipping coffee, and Maine was eating some pancakes.

"Knock knock." Wyoming said, as York sat down.

"It's too early for your stupid knock knock jokes." Tex snapped at him. This made Wyoming shut up fast.

"Hey Wash, we have training with Tex after breakfast." North said. Wash groaned, and put his head down.

"One day! Can I keep my balls intact for one day?" Wash mumbled, in to the table. Tex heard this, and laughed a little bit, which was rare for her.

"Who-"

Wash stopped when he saws North's curious expression. The whole table turned to see what he was looking at. Someone wearing black and white armor had just walked in. They got in line, and looked really nervous. They glanced back at the table once. They put their head down, got their food, and left.

"Who the hell was that?" South asked, the question directed to anybody.

"He's a new recruit the Director brought in." Carolina responded.

"A new recruit? Why haven't we heard about this?" Wash asked.

"The Director wants to keep it low profile." Carolina shrugged.

"What's his name?" Maine asked. This made everyone jump. Maine was usually quiet. He barley ever spoke, ever.

"I…..don't know." Carolina said, looking down.

"Awww, Miss know it all doesn't know?" South said, snickering. This cause North to give her a warning look.

"South, shut your damn mouth, before I shut it for you." Carolina growled.

"I'd like to see you try." South said, a hardness returning to her voice. York sighed as the two females tried to mangle each other, like usual. Wash stood up, and turned to leave.

"I'm gonna go and enjoy some time with balls unbroken." He said, looking to Tex. This caused Tex to grin, as she got up to. Soon everyone had gotten up, and left. Even South and Carolina, who actually hadn't managed to hurt one another, left the mess hall empty.


	5. Chapter 5

Seth was in his room, when his allotted training time was near. He started to put his armor on. This time he gave himself ample time, in case he took longer than expected. After he had his armor on, he left his room quietly. He was not supposed to let the other agents know he was training. He went down the hall toward the training room. He entered the large, now empty room. The Counselor was waiting for him.

"It's nice to see you again, Pennsylvania." He directed to Seth.

"Who's Pennsylvania?" Seth asked.

"All agents have a codename. We rarely use ones actual name. You have been designated as agent Pennsylvania." The Counselor replied. Seth nodded at this.

"We will start you off with hand to hand combat."

"Ok then, let's start" Seth said, nervousness showing through his voice.

The Counselor walked over to a computer console, and took out a long cord. He walked back to Seth, and put the cord on the back of his armor. He immediately felt something change.

His armor felt different. It was lighter. He felt more agile, more powerful; a HUD had also appeared in his vision. He liked his new armor, a lot.

"I just fully activated your armor. It has been calibrated to you and will help you in combat. It also has a very advanced HUD system." The Counselor said. At that, he left the training floor, and reappeared on the observation deck. He pressed some buttons, and the console in front of Seth slid beneath the floor.

"F.I.L.L.S. is our ships AI, just tell her what you want to do, and she will do it." The counselor told him. Then he left, leaving Seth to train.

"F.I.L.L.S., activate hand to hand combat training." Seth said, to no one.

"Acknowledged, beginning hand to hand combat training scenario." A very chipper voice came over the loud speaker.

"Round begin in 3….2….1, Round start!"

A robot that looked like human rose up from the floor. It faced Seth, and took a defensive stance. Seth did the same, eyeing t up the robot. The robot was the first to attack.

It charged, and threw a sloppy right hook. Seth side stepped the punch, and countered with a left jab. The robot turned back to Seth, and charged again. It threw the same right hook, and Seth dodged again, but this time the robot knew different.

As Seth side stepped, the robot threw a hard left uppercut, cracking Seth under the chin. He flew back, and landed on his side. These bots packed a helluva punch! He got back on his feet, and looked toward the bot, and went on the offensive. He threw jabs, and hooks, waiting for the bots defense to waver, and eventually, it did.

The bot lowered its left hand, and opened its head for attack. Seth drew his fist back, and landed a powerful punch to its head. The head flew back, but the body didn't. Seth watched the head skitter across the floor. The body fell shortly after.

How had he ripped its head off? He wasn't that strong. Then it hit him. The armor. It must enhance his physical abilities. He grinned under his helmet at this thought. Just then two more robots rose up from the floor.

They both charged at him. He crouched and threw a sweep kick. Making them fall over each other. They got back up, and began to circle around him. He watched them, waiting for one to make a move. One that was to his left, came at his side. He blocked its punch, and countered it with a strong left-cross, but was hit on the back of his head. He fell to his knees. He had forgotten about the second bot.

He slowly got back on his feet, his head pounding. He ran at one that entered his field of view. He jump kicked it in the chest, causing it to fly a good fifteen yards back. He turned when he heard the other bot charging him.

Before it could even land a punch, Seth kicked it in the knee. There was a very loud CRACK, and he saw the robots leg snap forward at the knee. It was now crippled, and didn't stand a chance. He landed punch after punch, devastating blows to the bots midsection, and head. He finished with a knee to the gut, causing the bot to lurch over, and hit it with a hard uppercut, sending its head back with a snap. The robot fell to a pile of scarp at his feet.

The other robot, which had gotten back up, jumped on his back. It started hitting his head repeatedly. Seth tried to grab it, but he couldn't reach it. He back pedaled, ramming the bot into a wall. It lost its grip, as Seth flung it forward off his back, and onto the floor, smoking.

"Good riddance, bitch."

Then, three more robots came up from the floor. Seth grinned.

"This, is gonna be fun."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Wash w had just gotten out of the shower, when he heard noises coming from the training room. He walked to the observation. When he stepped in. he saw North watching someone on the floor.

"Hey North."

"Hey Wash. shouldn't you be asleep? Its 11:30." North shot him a questioning look.

"I had a late shower, and heard some noises. I came to investigate." Wash shrugged. "Who is even training this late at night?"

"The new recruit, or agent Pennsylvania, as F.I.L.L.F. informed me."

"Pennsylvania? I thought all agents were given states as codenames?" Wash asked, puzzled.

"That's usually how it is. This guy is different apparently." North replied. Wash looked to the floor. There were pillars up, all around the room. Pennsylvania was against four robots.

"He's doing lockdown paint." North informed Wash.

"How much you wanna bet those bots paint him to the wall? Wash said, jokingly.

"I wouldn't count on that." North said.

"Why?"

You'll see, trust me."

Wash looked back to the floor. Pennsylvania had two magnums, while the four bots all had assault rifles. Pennsylvania weaved through the pillars faster than Wash thought was possible. One of the bots saw him, and chased after him. The bot came around a pillar that it thought its target was behind, but no one was there.

Pennsylvania watched the bot look for its target, from on top of a pillar. He jumped down, and landed on the bot. It hit the ground, only to be covered in paint. He got close to one that was looking for its ally. Pennsylvania kicked the rifle out of its hands, and pistol whipped it. It stumbled back, before being covered in paint.

"Ok, that was pretty impressive." Wash said

"Yeah, for a newbie." North replied.

The last two bots saw Pennsylvania, and opened fire. He dove behind a pillar, but was hit in his left hand. He rolled to the next pillar, and leaned out. He squeezed of two shots, before going back behind cover.

One shot hit a bot In the leg, and the other was hit in the chest. He ran in front them , drawing their fire. He tried to get them to follow him. Since the one couldn't move because of its leg, the other tried to follow him. The bot was slowed by the paint. Pennsylvania got behind it, and let off a single shot, nailing it in the back of the head. The last bot was the only one left. Pennsylvania got close, and leaned out. The bot was able to shoot his magnum out of his hand.

Pennsylvania ran at the bot, using his advanced HUD to dodge the paint coming at him. He hit the rifle up into the air, and kicked the bot in the chest, sending it stumbling backward. He caught the rifle out of the air, and covered the last bot in paint.

"Round over, Agent Pennsylvania wins." F.I.L.L.S. chirped over the loud speaker.

Seth put his weapons on a table that sank below the floor. He walked out of the training room, and back to his own room.

"He's good." Wash said.

"I was thinking the same thing." North said, looking at Wash.

"Why do you think the Director wants him to be a secret from us?" Wash asked.

"I don't know Wash. But he must have his reasons."

"He was pretty good down there."

"Yeah, but not nearly as good as any of us."

Wash sighed, this was all too confusing for him.

"I'm gonna go to bed now." Wash said, before turning to leave.

"Yeah, me too. Night Wash."

"Night North."


	6. Chapter 6

Seth woke up, and felt like something was off. He hadn't woken up to his alarm clock. He rolled over, and looked at his clock. It said 7:45 A.M., He had over slept. He looked closer, and saw the alarm had been set to P.M.

Somebody had to have changed it, he remembered setting it correctly! He threw on his helmet, and ran out of room full speed, forgetting the rest of his armor. He raced down the hall, trying not to be late for breakfast, knocking down some marines on his way.

Seth flew through the double doors, and ran into the line. Luckily almost nobody was there, _Almost.___He looked, and saw the table of agents he had saw the day before. They were all laughing. Laughing at him. This pissed him off.

He marched over to the table, and glared at them from under his helmet.

"Is something, _funny?" _He said, an edge to his voice.

"No, nothing at all." A guy wearing tan armor said, grinning.

"Oh, really? Then care to explain why my alarm clock was tampered with, and I didn't get a shower this morning?" Seth asked obviously pissed off.

"Ok, Ok. You got us. The tan guy said. "We like to pull pranks on the newbies." He added.

"No harm done? He asked Seth.

"No harm done? _No harm done?!_ I ALMOST FUCKING MISSED BREAKFEST!" Seth yelled.

"Whoa, calm done there." A guy wearing black and yellow armor told him. "It was only a joke."

"Don't mess with my fucking food." Seth growled.

"I like him." A girl wearing light purple and green armor said. Seth sighed and sat down.

"Sorry, I'm just really nervous." Seth said to them.

"Well, let us introduce ourselves!" The tan guy said. "I'm York, That's Wash, Maine, North and South, and Wyoming." He said, pointing around the table.

"I'm Pennsylvania." Seth said.

"Pennsylvania…" York said, thinking. "You my friend need a nickname."

"A nickname?" Seth asked.

"Yeah, see, North and South are really North Dakota and South Dakota. But we just call them North and South for short." York said.

"How bout, Pen?" South asked.

Everyone at the table agreed to this.

"So, my nickname is pen?" Seth asked.

"Yep." York replied.

"Well, we gotta go train, you should come." South said to him.

"I don't know…"

"Awww. C'mon!"

"It's just, the Director really doesn't want me with you guys." Seth said.

"He will never know!" South replied.

"South….." North tried to warn his sister.

"She's right, you should come Pen, you'll only watch, I swear." York said, Seth thought about it, and gave in.

"Fine, just let me get my armor."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Seth stood on the observation deck, as he watched the other agents train. It was three on three, lockdown paint. The teams were, Wash, York and North, against, South, Wyoming and Maine. Wyoming and North were in a sniper battle, while the others tried to paint each other.

He watched, as York was picked off by South, with a well-placed paint grenade. North managed to hit Wyoming, and then turned his attention to helping his team mates. Maine rammed right through a pillar, and into York. York flew back and hit another pillar, with a loud crack. He fell to the ground, clutching his arm. Maine walked up to him.

"I-I think it's broken." York said, obviously in large amounts of pain.

They ended round, and medics helped York to the med bay. They no longer had enough people to finish their training. The five of them all looked to the observation deck, and to Seth.

"Oh no!" He said into the speaker.

"come on, we need another person to finish the match." Wash told him.

"No." Seth said.

"Please?" South asked. Seth thought for a minute, then sighed.

"Ok, I'm coming down." He said to them.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"This is a very bad idea." Seth said, holding a magnum.

"It'll be fine." Was tried to reassure him."

He had replaced York on Wash's team. He knew this was going to be a bad decision.

"3…2…1, Round start!"

Wash flanked left, as Seth flanked right. He heard sniper fire, then heard North exclaim. They had just lost their sniper. He kept moving, trying to avoid the others. He knew he was out of his league, and that any one of them would crush him.

Seth stopped when he saw Wyoming on the top of a pillar. He was pointing his rifle right at Seth. He fired. Seth activated his HUD, as the shot slowed, and he was able to dodge it pretty easily. Wyoming jumped down from the pillar and came toward him, thinking he had hit his target. Seth jumped out from behind the pillar, and surprised Wyoming.

Seth grabbed the sniper rifle, and ripped it from Wyoming's hands. Wyoming rushed Seth, and tried to fight, hand to hand. But Wyoming was a sniper, not a master of melee combat. He tried to kick Seth's legs out, but Seth jumped over the kick, causing Wyoming to lose his balance. Seth took his chance.

He grabbed Wyoming and turned him around. He then punched Wyoming multiple times on the visor, knocking him back. He pulled out his pistol, and painted Wyoming to a pillar. He had just taken out a freelancer.

He had just beat a fucking freelancer! Seth turned, feeling accomplished, only to have the air squeezed from his lungs, as he was kicked in the chest. He hit a pillar, and fell on his ass. He looked up, to see South pointing a BR at his head.

"Maybe next time." She said sweetly.

Seth groaned, before his head was covered I n paint, followed by his chest, arms, legs, and balls.


	7. Chapter 7

Seth groaned as he walked to the showers. He didn't feel like walking to his room, and he had already trained with the others, so he didn't really care about not showering in his room. He took off his black and white armor, and set down beside the showers.

He stepped under the shower head, and turned the heat up full blast. That lockdown paint hurt like a bitch. He stood under the hot water for a good, twenty minutes. He shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. He put on a black pair of pants, and was about to put his shirt on, when somebody interrupted him.

"Where did you get those burns?" Seth turned and saw Wash, dripping wet, behind him. Seth thought about the grenades, the explosion, the heat, the pain. He began to shake, and felt his heart rate quicken.

"I-I have to go." Seth stuttered, before bolting out of the showers. He sprinted down the hall, oblivious to the marines he was knocking over. He ran into his room, and closed the door. He sat against a wall, and just sat there. What had just happened to him? He felt like he was going to pass out.

He caught his breath, and tried to calm down. He stood up, and sat on his bed. He wondered why he had just freaked out like that. It was then, that he realized he left his armor by the showers. Seth walked out of his room, and started slowly walking back. He was still a little shaken by what had just unfolded.

He stopped at the entrance and voices. He could pick out Wash, York and North.

"Wait, what happened?' York asked Wash.

"I told you! I came to get a shower, and Pen was already in here. He was changing, and saw some burns on his shoulder. I asked about them, and he got all nervous, and ran out. He even left his armor."

"That definitely is strange." North said, thinking.

"Yeah, I wonder where he did get them." York said to them both.

It was then that Seth noticed somebody behind him. He turned and a very large man wearing E.V.A. armor. It was agent Maine. He shoved Seth into the room, and growled,

"_You can ask him yourselves."_ He said to the other three agents.

"Were you eavesdropping on us?" Wash asked him.

"Yeah, I came back to get my armor, and you guys were talking about me." He replied to Wash.

"So what did happen?" York asked him.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Seth said, before moving away from Maine, to his armor. He bent over to pick it up, when his shirt slid. He was wearing a very loose shirt, and it slid just enough to give a view of his shoulder.

"Those look like grenade burns…." North trailed off, when they noticed Seth freeze.

The word grenade, triggered a memory. A very certain, unpleasant memory. He could almost feel the explosion. Seth began to shake. He couldn't help it. The memories, they felt so, _real. _Seth tried to walk over to one of the benches, but stumbled and almost fell, because he was shaking so bad. Before he hit the ground though, he was caught by Maine.

Maine set him down on the bench. Seth was sweating, and visibly shaking. The memories were so vivid, he could feel the pain, over and over.

"Pen, are you okay man?" Wash asked him.

Seth tried to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. The other agents looked worriedly to each other. Seth remembered the heat hitting his shoulder, the loud noise of rushing air. Seth felt a burning in his shoulder, before passing out.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Seth woke up to voices. He was laying on his bed. He could make out Wash, York, North, someone else he didn't recognize. Wash and York were arguing about what to do.

"We have to take him to the med bay!" Wash exclaimed.

"Wash, we can't." York replied.

"Why not.?!"

"If we do, then the Director would know he was with us. You heard him earlier. He said the Director told him not to be with us. If we take him to the med bay, were screwing him." York said.

"What if something is seriously wrong with him?" Seth didn't recognize this voice, but it was familiar. It was defiantly female.

"South does make an excellent point, statistics show-"

"D, logoff." York said to another unknown voice. So the female was South, great. Seth opened his eyes, and saw the agents standing in his room. He tried to sit up, but his head said different. It felt like he had been run over by a truck. He inhaled sharply, before laying back down. The other agents looked at him.

"How ya feeling?" York asked Seth.

"Like shit." Seth said, grinning. "What happened to me anyways?"

"You don't remember?" Wash asked him.

"No, I don't." Seth said, nervously.

"You passed out." York told him.

"Why? What happened?"

"Were not sure, but it happened when we said-"

"York!" York was cut off by Wash.

"when they said grenade." South finished. Seth felt the color drain from his face.

"SOUTH!" North yelled at his sister. Seth began to shake, ever so slightly.

"It's ok." Wash said, trying to comfort him. Seth took a couple of deep breaths, and stopped shaking.

"Okay, let's not say that word again." Wash said, looking at South.

"Agent Pennsylvania please report to the Directors office immediately." F.I.L.L.S. said over the speakers.

"Shit….." Seth mumbled. Feeling better, he slowly stood up. He walked to the door, and said thanks to the others. As he left, he thought he heard South say something to him. It sounded almost like….sorry.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Seth walked into the Directors office, and stood at attention.

"At ease Pennsylvania." The Director said in his southern drawl. Seth relaxed and looked at the man in front of him.

"I see you have disobeyed my orders, you were reported training with the other agents." The Director looked at Seth.

"I'm sorry Sir." Seth said, expecting punishment.

"It is all right. You are now allowed to be with them when you want, and train when you want." The Director said to him.

"Thank you sir." Seth said, relieved, and over joyed.

"But, that is not the reason I asked you to be here." He said, causing Seth's stomach to drop.

"You have been selected to be implanted with an AI." He said.

"An, AI, Sir?" Seth asked confused.

"Yes, an AI. It's an artificial intelligence, used to help you in combat. Agents New York, North Dakota, Carolina, and Texas, already have AIs." He replied to Seth's question. "Your AIs name, is Omicron, your implantation will be tomorrow. That is all, you are dismissed.

Seth left, and walked back to his room. He was getting an AI? Already? He lay down in his bed. What did the Director mean by, Implantation? These thoughts drifted, until he fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Seth walked into the mess hall that morning, without his armor on. As he got some breakfast, he noticed that South and Carolina were arguing, again. It really did happen a lot. Seth walked over and sat down by Wash. Carolina stormed off, which left South laughing.

"Hey Pen." Wash said as Seth sat down beside him.

"Mornin Wash."

"Why no armor?" York asked him. Seth wasn't sure if he should tell them. Sure, York and North already had one, but he wasn't sure. Seth sighed, and decided it would be best to just tell them.

"I have implantation today." He told them. The whole table gawked at him.

"You're getting an AI?" North asked.

"Yeah"

"But you're still a recruit?" Wash said.

"Yeah , a recruit that could probably kick your ass Wash." York joked.

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Wash exclaimed. Seth gave Wash a questioning look.

"I didn't mean- I just-it's not-"

" It's okay Wash, I was joking." Seth said, grinning. Then South spoke up.

"_Why does he get an AI?!"_ She screamed. "He's a fucking recruit, and he gets a fucking AI? Unfucking believable!" South flipped over some poor marines table in her rage.

"Hey! South calm down!" Seth told her.

"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down when you get an AI, while I've been waiting weeks?" She said, extremely pissed.

"I'll make you deal, when I get this AI, if he's any good, ill make sure to beat the shit out of Mrs. Bitch, Carolina." Seth Said. South smiled slightly at the idea of Carolina being beat up.

"Deal." She said before walking off.

"Holy shit. You just calmed South out of one of her fits." York said, amazed.

"Yeah, only North has ever been able to do that!" Wash added.

"It's true." North put in."It's even hard for me to do that!" North added, also amazed.

"Anyway, whens your implantation?" Wash asked.

" I'm not sure. The Director didn't say. So I guess it could be anytime."

"Wow, must be nerve racking not knowing when it's going to happen." York said.

"What do you mean?" Seth asked, curious.

"AIs are implanted into your head. That means intensive surgery." York told him.

"Yeah, and you have to be awake during the process." North added.

"Well, I did not know that." Seth said, his voice slightly cracking.

"It's ok, it doesn't hurt too badly." York reassured him.

"York, we have training with Wyoming and Carolina in twenty." North told his friend.

"Guess that means we gotta go get ready." York sighed.

"You can come to pass the time, Pen." Wash told him.

"Sure, I guess." Seth responded. They got up and walked out of the mess hall. They had only walked for about a minute, when they heard somebody laugh. They turned to see a man, with black hair, wearing brown pants, and a green shirt.

"Hawaii." North said, looking the other agent up, and down.

"Hey North, Wash, York." Hawaii said to them. "I heard that some, _recruit,_ is gonna get an AI before me." He said, taking a step towards Seth.

"Whoa, take it easy." North said to him.

"Yeah." York said, Backing North up.

"C'mon guys, I just wanted to see if the new guy really deserved an AI." Hawaii said, still getting closer to Seth.

"Seriously Hawaii, back up." North told him. He didn't listen, and shoved Seth's back against the wall.

"You listen to me." He growled in Seth's ear. "You're gonna tell the Director that you don't want the AI, and that you would like agent Hawaii to have it. You got that?" Hawaii said, threateningly.

"No." Seth simply said.

"_Excuse me?"_ Hawaii said, in disbelief.

"You heard me. No." Seth said again. Hawaii's eyes could've drilled holes into Seth's skin.

"Now, if wouldn't mind, please get off of me." Seth told him. Hawaii held him still. Then he drew his fist back.

Seth hit the man's hand off his chest, and ducked. The punch, that had been aimed at his head, narrowly missed. The fist hit the metal wall with a thud. Seth rolled, and was now behind Hawaii. He kicked the back of Hawaii's left knee, causing him to fall to the ground. Then he punched the back of his head, knocking him out.

"Wow." York said, looking at Hawaii, who was laying, unconscious, on the floor.

"Hey, he started it." Seth replied.

"He has a point." Wash stated.

""Let's go, were going to be late for training." North said.

Seth walked onto the observation deck, as York and North entered the training floor. Wash and Maine were there too, along with South, and C.T.

"What took you guys so long?" South asked. Maine growled, wanting to know too.

"Hawaii was being a dick." Wash responded

"What happened?" South asked.

"Ask Pen." Wash replied. South turned to him.

"He was pissed that I'm getting an AI. He tried to catch me off guard."

"Considering you look good, I'm guessing he lost?"

"He looks good South?" Wash said, joking.

" Shut up Wash." South mumbled.

"Anyway, yeah, he's currently unconscious on the floor somewhere." Seth said, grinning.

"Nice, he is a total dick." South said, also grinning.

"Agent Pennsylvania please report to the medical bay." F.I.L.L.S. chirped over the loud speakers.

"Well. I gotta go." Seth said to them.

"Good luck." South said, before he left, and headed for the med bay.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Seth was led to a special surgery room. He was told to lay down on the table. They hooked him up to different machines, before the Director came in.

"Pennsylvania." The Director said. "You are going to be implanted with the AI fragment of courage. The surgery will only take an hour." He said, with a southern drawl. Then, he left. Leaving Seth with the doctors.

Artificial gravity was disengaged, and Seth was positioned accordingly. He saw a mechanical arm with a very long, and extremely sharp needle on the end. Then there was an oval purplish object with lights down the sides.

Seth recognized it immediately. It was the object he retrieved before he entered the project. But, that was rescued from the insurrectionists. Seth no longer felt good about this implantation. The arm positioned itself over Seth's neck. Then arms came from the sides, and held his head in place.

The needle plunged in the back of his skull, causing a grunt of pain to escape his lips. He felt it, a presence in his head. It was vague at first, but it began to grow. It was angry about something. It kept saying non audible words. Then it began screaming.

Seth felt like his head was going to explode. It just kept screaming, tearing at Seth's sanity. Seth could feel himself slipping into darkness. But even after he passed out, the voice stayed. It kept screaming. Seth wanted to tear his brain out, to make it stop. He couldn't bear it, the shrieks of anger. He lost himself in his own head. Then, he could finally tell what it was screaming. It kept screaming it over, and over, one word. Allison.


	9. Chapter 9

Seth could still feel it when he woke up. It was just a whisper though. It had calmed down since the screaming. If it was whispering to him, Seth didn't know. He enjoyed the quiet of his mind.

Seth knew he was awake, because of the throbbing in his head. This wasn't the AI though, this was different. It almost felt like, the pain wasn't in his head, but outside his head. He groggily opened his eyes.

Of course, he was in the recovery wing of the med bay. He was attached to multiple wires, and pads that were on his chest and back. As far as he could see, no one was there. He was alone. That made him feel a whole lot better. They couldn't even be bothered to be there when he woke up.

He sighed, and sat up. He started taking off the wires, and put his normal clothes on. At first, he was a little clumsy on his feet, after the surgery. He left the recovery room, and entered the main med bay platform. Still nobody.

No doctors or nurses. This worries him. Why were there no doctors in a medical bay? He walked out of the room, and down the hall. What he didn't notice however, was a faint shimmer, following behind him.

He entered his room, and sat on his bed. He felt restless. Like he wanted to do something,_ anything._ He figured that was his AI. It was courage, so maybe it wanted to something courageous. It was still quiet though.

He put on his armor, and walked to the training room. He _had _to do something. He couldn't just sit around, his mind wouldn't let him. He passed a few marines on the way. They all looked to him with fear. Seth brushed it off though; they probably were like that to all Freelancers.

He entered the training room floor, and called out to F.I.L.L.S.

"F.I.L.L.S. activate hand to hand combat training."

"Starting hand to hand combat scenario." Three robots come up from the floor. "Round start in, 3…2…1, Round begin!"

One robot charged at him, but Seth drew back, and with precision timing, nailed the robot in the face with his first. It flew back, to where its friends were standing.

How had he done that? Sure, the armor helped, _but that?!_

Seth came out of thoughts as two robots tried to flank him. One to his right charged, and Seth faced it. He jumped straight over it, before they collided, and landed on his feet. He saw the two robots collide, and fall in a heap.

"Round over, Agent Pennsylvania wins!" F.I.L.L.S. called out "New round commencing"

As she said this, five robots slid up from the floor. The formed a circle around him. Two ran at him, from different angles. He blocked a kick the one in front of him tried, when he heard a voice in his head.

"_Behind you"_

Seth ducked, as the jab that was thrown at his head, instead hit the other bot.

"Thanks." He said into his helmet. Then, the last three charged at once.

He blocked multiple punches aimed for his head, before spinning, and blocking a kick that would've taken out his legs. Then he heard it again.

"_Jump kick left"_

Seth did just that. He ended up kicking a bots head right off its shoulders. Only two remained.

He felt something take over him. No, not take over him, something _helping_ him. He threw punches harder than he thought possible, and moved faster than he ever could. The fight ended quickly, with Seth's new abilities.

Then came lockdown paint. Pillars rose from the floor, and created a maze. Then six robots emerged from the floor. Seth could feel the presence in his mind getting stronger. He picked up an assault rifle, two magnums, and a couple of paint grenades from a table.

He saw something change on his HUD. There were now six dots in his vision. His AI had marked his enemies. Then he heard it again.

"_I am here to help you."_

"You ready to kick some metallic ass, Omicron?"

"_Let's do this."_

Seth could feel the joy in Omicrons voice. He started the round off well. A bot has accidently crossed Seth's path, and was instantly painted down. Seth felt more eager to fight, than the last time he had fought.

But then he was pinned down by two bots. They had him in a bad spot; any way he would move would mean paint down. Then he remembered the grenades.

"Omicron, I need you to analyze the path of this grenade, and help me get it right between them."

"_Complying… Alright, toss it."_

Seth threw the grenade without even looking. It landed right in between the robots. They both looked down, before it exploded, covering them both in paint. Three down, Three to go.

He moved closer to the dots on his HUD. One was just behind the pillar right in front of him. Seth jumped on top of it, and whistled.

"Hey, your mother was a toaster!" he yelled at the bot, who looked up

"Omicron, NOW!" Seth jumped off the pillar, and flipped upside down. He was right above the robot. He pulled out his two magnums, and painted the bot to the floor. Then he flipped around, and landed in a crouch.

"Om, that was awesome!"

"_I agree. Let's finish this."_

The last two bots both came at Seth from behind.

"_On your six!" _Seth listened to his AI and rolled behind a pillar, providing adequate cover.

Seth jumped out from the opposite side of the pillar, and activated his advanced HUD. It was different with Omicron helping.

The bots slowed down, and so did their rifles. Seth sprinted, dodging the slow moving paint, and round housed the left bot, knocking it to the floor. The second bot had its rifle torn from its hands, and was covered in paint from its own rifle. Seth painted the other bot, ending the round.

All the pillars slid back under the floor, leaving an empty room. Another table rose up, with more weapons on it. He resupplied his magnums, grenades, and his assault rifle. The table slid under the floor, as a very large robot, came up, at the other end of the room.

"Om, what the hell is that?!"

"_Scanning for weak points….."_

"Scan faster!" Seth yelled, as the barrels on the Gatling gun it was holding, began to turn.

Seth rolled, when the area he had just been was covered with paint. He ran forward, weaving left and right, to avoid the guns dangerous spray.

"_The only weak point is behind its head."_

"Okay, calculate distance between us, and how high I can jump. Where gonna show this guy who's the boss."

Seth continued running forward, continually dodging the paint thrown from the very large gun. When he got within ten yards of the robot, Omicron spoke to him.

"_Jump on my mark…" _Seth ran, right at the huge robot, waiting.

"_NOW!" _A voice yelled in his head.

Seth jumped, and landed on its chest, before vaulting over its head. He clung to its neck, while looking for the weak point. The large bot swung wildly, trying to knock him off. Seth found what he was looking for, a small unprotected panel, on its neck.

He covered the panel with paint, then jumped off. He landed on the ground, as the bot fell.

"_I think he knows who's the boss." _Omicron said, almost smugly. Then, a voice came over the loud speakers.

"Well done, Agent Pennsylvania." The Director said, over the speakers.


	10. Chapter 10

Apparently, getting up and fighting robots, and getting shot at by a giant ass one, is bad when you just had surgery.

As soon as the Directors voice came over the speakers, Seth was nauseous. His head had started vibrating, a pain that was centered inside of his head. The things around him became blurry, as he fell to one knee.

He ripped his helmet off, right before he started vomiting uncontrollably. His head was pounding, he felt drained, he felt _weak._ He could vaguely hear somebody over the loud speakers, probably the Director.

Seth looked to his side, and saw people coming onto the training floor. He could only make out blurred colorings of their armor. One wore white, one was black, one was light blue, and one was dark purple. He fell onto his stomach, no longer being able to keep himself up.

He started fading, but before he blacked out, he could feel himself being lifted off of the floor. He had time to see the white armored figure holding him, before accepting the darkness.

This time, the sleep was comforting. No screaming, no pain, just blissful sleep. Omicron had been tired out from the fights also, so he had logged off after Seth had blacked out. Seth needed the sleep, he wanted it.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Seth was lifted from his sleep by voices. He could tell they weren't worried, that made him feel better. The last time he woke up to worried voices. That thought made him realize something, he had already blacked out twice, in his short run as a Freelancer.

He shrugged that thought off, as Omicron stirred in his mind. He didn't wake up though; the training fight had really drained him.

Seth could feel his head beginning to clear, and he could make out the voices. He heard North, Wash, and the deep throated growls from Maine. Seth tried to sit up, but he almost vomited again. The nausea was like a train, and it was trying to get into his head.

"Whoa, easy does it." North said, as he walked over to him.

"Ugh, what happened?" Were Seth's only words.

"The first time, or the second?" North asked, in a grim tone. This made red flags wave in Seth's mind. From what he knew, north was always happy, he only used that voice when something was wrong.

"Wait, what?" Seth asked, still confused.

"North, just tell him what happened." He heard Wash say.

"OK, fine. Well, after that training match, you blacked out. We think this was because your body was still weak from surgery. I'm still not sure why you were allowed to train anyway. You just had surgery for Pete's Sake!"

Seth saw North give Wash a questioning look. This was the "Should we, or shouldn't we, tell him" kind of look. Wash sighed, and stepped forward. He looked nervous.

"Well, after the implantation, you kinda went a little crazy."

"WHAT?!" Seth sat up, extremely confused now. North was the one to speak.

"You started screaming, and throwing things. You seemed, angry, about something."

Seth didn't know how to respond to this. He had thought the anger was only a dream. Now he was being told that he attacked people?

"O.K., then why did I wake up in the recovery wing, alone?" Seth glanced at North.

"The Director wanted to make sure you didn't hurt anyone else."

"Else? Who did I hurt.?

"just a couple of medical assistants, their fine now. Speaking of which, you were out for three days. You were only out for a day this time, though." North told him, trying to reassure him.

"Damn, this sucks….." Seth mumbled. The others already thought he was weak. This didn't help. He went to stand up, but North stopped him.  
"Are you sure? You still need to rest."

"North, trust me when I saw this, after four days of not eating, then vomiting what was left up, I'm fucking hungry." Seth said, a hint of humor in his voice. North grinned.

"You sound just like South." With that, Seth tried to stand up. He almost fell over, as more nausea hit him. Luckily, Maine caught him, again, and kept him up.

"Thanks Maine." Seth told the large freelancer.

They exited his room, and walked down the hall. Seth had lean on Maine, to keep from falling. His body was extremely weak. They came to the double doors, and entered the mess hall. They walked over to the food line, and Seth filled his tray.

They turned, and he saw the other freelancers all at their normal table. He didn't want to be with them, he just wanted to leave, to go back to his room.

"I-I think I'm just gonna eat in my room." Seth said, trying to turn around.

"Nah, You can eat with us, the others wanna know you're doing." North said, in his normal comforting tone.

"That, and you look like your about to fall over." Wash added, earning a look from North. But it was true. He felt horrible. He could barely stand, if Maine wasn't there, he wouldn't even be able to stay up right.

They walked up to the table, where South, Carolina, Wyoming, York, C.T., and Tex were all sitting.

Maine helped Seth sit down, which made him feel worse. He looked at his food, and slowly began to eat. He could tell the others were just staring at him. He didn't want to talk, and he wasn't going to. South spoke up first.

"Wow, you look like shit." This caused North to warn his sister.

"South…"

"What?! It's true."

"So, how's your AI?" It was York who asked the question. Seth didn't respond, he only kept eating his food. There was more silence, until Delta, which Seth had never actually met, spoke.

"Scans indicate that he is refusing to speak."

"Thanks for the newsflash, D." York replied to his AI.

"He can still talk, right?" Tex asked, looking at North. Before he could respond, Seth finally spoke.

"Yes, I can."

"Then say something."

"OK, shut up, and let me eat."

Everyone just stared at him. No one but Carolina, had ever actually talked back to Tex. They stared at each other, until Tex finally smiled.

"I like him, he's got a spine." Tex said.

"So, can we see him?" York asked. Seth wasn't sure. He couldn't tell if Omicron had woken up yet. He tried to think to his AI. Omicron responded. Seth asked if he wanted to meet the others. The AI was wary, but agreed.

"Ok, he's coming out." Seth wasn't sure what to expect. He hadn't actually seen Omicron yet, he had only heard his voice.

A small figure appeared next to Seth's head. It was black and white, and looked like a mini version of Seth. When he spoke out loud, he was very confident in his words.

"Hello everyone, I am Omicron." He said to the table. They just looked at him, until York spoke again.

"Dude, he looks just like you!" York implied to Seth.

"Indeed, quit, unusual, for an AI." Delta responded.

"Now D, that's not very nice, be kind to the new addition." Delta didn't respond, and just logged off.

"Yeah, just like him….." South grumbled.

Seth thought it was time for him to leave. He stood up, and was wobbly, but he didn't fall. He walked out of the room, and slowly went down the hall, and back to his room. He went back to sleep, as Omicron logged off.

"How is he, really?" Carolina asked North.

"If you're asking about his physical condition, he will fine after some rest."

"North, I mean his _mental_, condition." She said, concerned. North sighed.

"He seems o.k., but he's still in the danger zone." North told her.

"What's the danger zone?" South asked

"It just means that he could still snap. We need to be careful around him. That means we have to watch him, any of you need to report id he starts acting weird." The table nodded, and agreed.

"Man, he's only been here for a short time, and he has already had it rough." Wash commented.

"Hey North." Tex said, looking at him. "Did notice anything, different about him?"

"Actually, yeah. He seems to be less nervous then he used to be." North said, thinking.

"And that training session was pretty impressive for a recruit." Wash added.

"Those both are probably just from his AI." Tex said. "It is the Fragment of courage, which would explain why he isn't nervous, and it probably helped in his training."

"It makes sense." York told them. Them.

Then .L.S. told them that training was in five. The all got up, and left the mess hall. They all had one thing on their minds.

"What the hell, had happened to Pennsylvania?"


	11. Chapter 11

Seth woke up that morning and sighed. The Director had given him a few days off, to let his body recuperate. He didn't want to just lie around, but what else could he do? He got off his bed, and walked into his bathroom.

He felt better, but still not 100%. He turned the shower on, and stepped under it. The water was hot, and felt good. He took an hour long shower, and then went to get breakfast.

He entered the mess hall, and picked up a tray. He looked at the breakfast choices. There were eggs, pancakes, and French toast. He got the pancakes, and covered them in maple syrup. Then he went and sat by himself.

The others were on separate missions, so he was alone for the day. If he remembered correctly, North, South, Tex and Wyoming were trying to capture an insurrection leader, while Tex, Carolina, York, Wash, C.T., and Maine, were off getting another one of the Directors important "Objectives".

He felt a headache coming on. He had them a lot since the implantation, and they weren't getting any better. He clenched his jaw, as the throbbing in his head passed. After the pain had passed, he started talking to his AI.

"Hey Om, what should we do today?" He could tell the AI was thinking. It stayed quiet, and then finally came up with an answer.

"Maybe we should do equipment training." The confident voice said.

"Equipment? You mean like North's bubble shield, or Carolinas Chameleon ability?"

"Well, yes. What did you expect? To _not_ have any equipment? Hell, even Wash has one." Seth laughed at his AI, which made some soldiers stare at him.

"What's so funny?" omicron asked, sounding slightly confused.

"It's- it's nothing!" Seth said, still laughing. He caught his breath, and kept talking to Omicron.

"Well, are you gonna keep me waiting?" Seth asked, expectantly.

"Waiting for wait?" omicron asked back still confused. Seth sighed, even computers weren't that bright sometimes.

"What. Is. My. Equipment." Seth said slowly. He could tell that Omicron was become annoyed.

"You can emit an electromagnetic shield around yourself, that can deflect bullets, and melee attacks."

"So, it's kinda like North's bubble shield?"

"Yes and no." Now it was Seth's turn to be confused. "It's more portable, and stays with you when you move. You can also still attack when it's activated."

Seth was dumfounded. That sounded like the coolest thing he had ever heard! He could basically become invincible! They had to try that out, now! He got up, and headed back to his room.

When he got back, his armor was in his closet. He started to put it on, when Omicron interrupted.

"Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

"Aw, c'mon Om, it's not really training, just practice. Besides, do you really wanna just sit around all day?" The AI couldn't argue with that.

Seth finished putting on his armor, and headed for the training floor. When he got there, he wasn't really sure what to do. How _did _he practice with his equipment? Omicron heard this thought, and answered.

"I would suggest starting a hand to hand combat session." He said.

"FILLS, activate hand to hand combat training." Seth said to the ships AI.

"Starting hand to hand combat scenario." FILLS said, still very chipper. After she said this, a single robot came up from the floor.

"Round start in, 3…2…1, begin!"

"Alright Om, Activate it."

"Activating."

Seth didn't feel anything. He looked at his armor, and couldn't see anything different with it. Seth looked back up, to see the robots fist about to make contact with his stomach. But, the metallic fist never connected, instead, it was reflected by an orange, yellowish, outline that came from the armor.

Seth stood, amazed that the punch hadn't landed. The robot tried, again, and again, but Seth just stood there. Each time a punch was about to hit, it was reflected. Seth couldn't feel it at all. It tried hitting his head, his back, and his kegs. Each one wielded the same results.

Then, Seth decided to finish it. He stepped left, as the robot threw a punch, and it fell forward. Seth continued by ramming his elbow into its neck, causing it to fall to the ground.

It slipped under the floor, as three more came up. Seth waited, grinning wildly under his helmet. No matter how hard they tried, they wouldn't win, they wouldn't even touch him.

Two came at him, and tried to land double punches, but both fists were rejected. Seth kicked ones legs out, and stomped its head, destroying it. The other two tried to flank him, but that failed to.

He jumped, and did a scissor kick, landed on both of the robots heads. They recovered quickly, and tried again. This time, Seth simply grabbed their heads, as they continually tried to punch through his shield. Then he bashed the heads together, ending the round.

Five robots replaced the last three. They circled him, and Seth laughed. A couple of familiar words came out of his mouth.

"This. Is gonna be fun."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Wash stepped out of the shower, and grabbed his clothes. He was in a good mood, mostly because the mission was a success. Carolina and Tex even managed to work _together._ The thought almost made Wash shiver.

The thought of facing the best two freelancers together, was fucking terrifying. Wash was snapped out of his thoughts, when North came out of the shower. He was upbeat, as usual, but South was another story.

Their team had let the Leader get away, and had failed their mission. North wasn't too mad about it, but South sure was. Wash was glad the genders had different showers. He really didn't like being around South when she was pissed.

"Hey Wash, you want to go and grab something to eat?" North asked

"Sure, hey Maine, you wanna come too?" Maine growled a "yes" in response.

"Hey, I'm in too, I'm frickin hungry!" York complained.

"Dude, yours always hungry." Wash said.

"That is _not _true!" Maine emitted a growl that sounded like snickering. York just gave him a look.

After they had all gotten dressed, they walked to the mess hall. When they entered, they all got trays, and filled them with food. Then they sat down with their teammates.

"Hello there, good chaps." Wyoming greeted them, as they sat down.

"Hey Wyoming." North replied. South just stared at her brother. They had just failed a mission, and he was happy? That just pissed her off even more. That was North, always the happy one, even if they failed. She really didn't understand her brother at all.

"So, anyone got any plans? Tomorrow is Saturday, after all." Wash asked the group.

"Well, I talked 749er into giving us a ride later." York told them.

"A ride to where?" Carolina asked, also in a good mood.

"A certain club we all like to go to." York responded, grinning.

"Sounds like fun. I'm in." Carolina said the rest of the table agreed, and it was decided. They would go clubbing later, since they had the next day off.

"Do you think we should invite Penn?" Wash asked.

"Sure, why the hell not?" York asked back.

"Speaking of which, where is he?" Carolina asked them, directing more toward North.

"I don't know. He wasn't in his room when we came back. I checked. North said, slightly worried, although not showing it. Wash looked like he had just had an epiphany.

"Wash, what is it?" Carolina asked him. It took a second for him to answer.

"I heard someone in the training room, but I thought it was nothing." Wash said.

"You don't think…" She dropped off, looking to North.

"That he's training?" North finished.

"I thought he had the next few days off?" York asked them.

"He does, for medical reasons." North added.

"I'm going to go see if its him, anyone want to come with?" Carolina asked.

The whole table got up, and followed her. They walked toward the observation deck, when Wash asked a question.

"Would it be bad if he is training?"

"It could be, his body might be weaker than he thinks, and he could hurt himself." North responded.

They entered the observation and looked to the floor. It was set up for lock down paint. There were pillars around the room, and four robots. Seth was on the other end, with no visible weapon.

"Is he doing lock down paint, without a gun?!" Wash asked, puzzled.

"Looks like it." Carolina responded.

"Wow, I should try that." Tex said, to nobody.

"How long until he's out?" York asked.

"I'll give him a minute." Carolina said.

Seth had the bots marked on his HUD. He came to first, which fired upon him. The paint pellets just bounced off the shield though, and Seth moved forward. The robot kept firing, as Seth got closer. He got right up on the robot, before making his move.

He round housed the bots weapon, knocking it into the air. He then punched the robot causing it to stumble back. He caught the falling weapon in the air, and painted the robot.

"How the hell did he do that?!" Wash asked, impressed.

"Scans show his armor is emitting an electromagnetic pulse that acts as a shield that blocks bullets, and other attacks." Delta said, as he appeared next to York.

"I didn't even know he had equipment." Wash said.

"Me neither." York responded.

While they weren't looking, Seth had finished the other robots rather quickly, ending the match. The pillars sank back into the floor, and Seth put the assault rifle he was holding onto a table. It sank below the floor too. Wash leaned on the control panel, and accidentally hit a button.

"Uh, Wash? What did you just press?" York asked him, concerned.

"I-I don't, I didn't….. I don't know!" Wash said franticly.

"Um, you might want to see this." South said, looking to the floor.

Multiple turrets had appeared on the walls, and floor.

"They just shoot paint, right?" Wash asked, as their barrels began to turn. Gunfire erupted on the floor.

"Om, Keep the shield up!" Seth yelled.

"I'm trying; we haven't trained against bullets yet!" Seth could the strain in his AIs voice.

The turrets kept firing at him, but his shield held. Seth tried to help Omicron with the shield.

"Wash! Turn those damn things off!" Carolina screamed.

"I'm trying!" Wash yelled back. The freelancers could see the orange outline around Penn start to flicker.

"Wash! Move!" North said, as he took control over the panel.

On the floor, Seth and Omicron weren't doing well. The shield was about to give, and Om was drained.

"Om, can you calculate the vital points on the shield and just keep them up?" Seth suggested. The AI tried, and parts of the shield disappeared, as the remaining areas became brighter.

"We aren't going to last long!" Omicron said. The last of the shield began to disappear, as the turrets stopped. Omicron logged off, tired beyond belief, and Seth sat on the floor, also exhausted. Then, the other freelancers burst onto the floor.

"Are you okay?" Carolina was the first to reach him.

"Yeah, I wasn't hit." Seth responded.

"You shouldn't have been training." She told him.

"It was pretty easy training, until some asshole started shooting at me!" Seth shot back. "Who was it anyway?" They all pointed to Wash, who slinked back.

"Hey, were going clubbing, you wanna come?" York asked.

"I don't know…"

"You're coming." Tex said.

"Ok fine." Seth said, as he stood up. He walked over to Wash, and stood in front of him.

Seth was a few inches taller, and intimidated Wash pretty easily. He brought his armored knee, up into Wash's unarmored gut, causing the other man to fall to the ground, gasping.

"That's for shooting at me." Seth said, before walking toward the door. "Just let me change and I'll be right there." He called back to them.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Seth sat in 749ers pelican. He was wearing black jeans, and black polo shirt with white stripes. The others were dressed just about the same. The females wore dresses, with their corresponding color schemes. The males wore just about the same as Seth. Jeans, polo shirt, assorted colors.

"Alright, were ready to go." 749er called back to them Seth heard the engines start up, and then take off. The club was on earth, and it was a fifteen minute flight. Nobody really talked, they just sat in silence.

When they arrived at the club, it was just like Seth had expected it to be. Loud, crowded, and uninviting. They entered, and split apart. The club had a large dance floor, and a bar. Music was pumping extremely loud, and people were dancing.

York went to dance with Carolina, and Wash with C.T. Seth sat at the bar, and ordered a beer. He didn't dance. Instead he just dank, and watched the others. Eventually, Tex came, and sat by him.

"This is your idea of fun?" She asked.

"Hey, I don't dance." He told her.

"I can feel you there. To many people." She said to him.

"Exactly." Was his only response. Seth took another drink, and let the liquid burn his throat. After what happened to him the past few days, it felt good. The loud music was starting to bring his headache back. He took another drink.

The liquid fire felt good in his stomach. The headache got stronger. His head was throbbing. Seth finished his beer, and sat alone. Tex had gotten up, and left. That was his night. Drinking, and keeping a headache at bay.

Finally, at three A.M., they decided to leave. Everybody was drunk, except for Seth and Tex. Tex, because she can hold her beer, and Seth because he can too. They both helped the drunken freelancers onto the pelican.

"Looks like you guys had fun." She said. Seth gave her a look that could kill. His headache was killing him, and he just wanted to get home. Tex saw the look, and was about to ask him about it, but didn't.

The short trip felt longer for Seth, because the drunken freelancers wouldn't stop mumbling random crap. This didn't help his headache, and only pissed him off. He snapped when Wash started trying to apologize.

"Hey- i…im sorry, a-about earli-" Wash's drunk words were cut off by a fist smacking him in the face, and knocking him out.

"What the hell was that?" Tex asked him.

"He was annoying me." Seth growled.

They got back to the Mother of Invention without any more incidents. Seth didn't even help Tex with their drunk friends. Instead, he went to his room, and flopped onto his bed. His headache was horrible. He wanted to scream, and he was about to, when somebody opened his door.

A drunk South walked in. She was wearing a purple spaghetti strap dress, that only came to her knees. She walked up to Seth, and brushed her lips against. Shivers went up Seth's spine, as their lips touched. She released, then giggled before stumbling out of the room.

Seth laid down, and went to sleep. His headache had disappeared.


	12. Chapter 12

Seth was the only one at breakfast that morning. The others were all still passed out (Excluding Tex) and refused to get up. So, Seth munched on some toast, alone. Until Tex finally came out. She got her breakfast, and sat down in front of him.

"Morning Tex." He greeted her

"Mornin." He could tell she was still tired. They sat and ate, until Tex started to smile.

Seth didn't like when she smiled. When Tex smiled, bad things happened. She had smiled at a marine the other day. He was currently in the med bay, nursing his broken balls.

"How about we have a little match today?" She said, a little too sweetly.

"Ummm… how about. no?"

"And why not?!"

"Because I like my balls, Tex." They both laughed a little at this.

"Come on. It'll be fun!" She coaxed.

"Maybe for you!"

"Wuss"

"I'm not."

"Then let's have a match!" He sighed. This was a bad idea. There was no doubt Tex would crush him.

"O.k. fine."

"Well meet on the training room floor in five." She said, before getting up and leaving.

Seth also got up, and went to his room. He passed Wash on the way there.

"Morning Wash."

"Hey…." Wash trailed off, still fighting a hangover. "Where ya goin?" He asked, still slurring his words.

"Training,…with Tex." He grumbled.

"Dude, protect your nuts." Wash said, before he continued to stumble down the hall.

Seth walked into his room, and started putting his armor. Omicron had finally woken up, and they tried to come up with a plan. Tex was a badass. She WAS going to crush them. They were totally and completely fucked.

After his armor was on, he started for the training floor. He only made it a few feet though, when he was stopped by York.

"Hey Penn."

"Hey York"

"Where ya headed?" York asked him.

"I'm about to go and get by balls busted." He replied

"Tex?" Was York's only word.

"Yep."

"Well, if you can still walk, come meet the others in the mess hall." He told Seth.

They parted ways, and Seth came to the training floor. Tex was already there. He walked up to her.

"Okay, so what are we doing?" He asked.

"Free for all. It's kinda like lock down paint, but better."

"Ok." As he said this, two tables came up from the floor. They had every single weapon he could imagine on them. Tex picked up a magnum, an assault rifle, a BR, a rocket launcher, and some grenades.

Seth picked up two magnums, an assault rifle, and some grenades. He didn't need all that weight slowing him down. Tex walked to the other side of the room, as pillars rose from the floor. The round started.

"Om, track her on my HUD." A small dot appeared in his vision. "Only activate the shield when it's absolutely necessary." He told the AI.

Tex was trying to flank his left. He got ready for her to come around the corner. But she didn't. The tracking dot was still coming at him, but no Tex.

"Om, what happened how-"Seth was cut off by a fist smashing into his visor.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The other freelancers were all in the mess hall. Almost everyone was nursing a hangover.

"York, if you ever let me drink that much again, I'm going to kill you." Carolina growled, wincing as the words made her head throb. York simply smiled.

"Now where's the fun in that?" He asked her. She glared at him.

"Well, I had fun last night." North said.

"I did to." Wash piped up.

"Ok, I guess it wasn't all bad." Carolina admitted. They ate there breakfast, until Wyoming spoke.

"Would anyone happen to know where Penn is?" He asked.

"Yeah, he's training against Tex." Wash told him. Carolina stiffened at his words.

"_What?!"_ She growl, whispered "Why didn't you tell me?!"She screamed at him, causing everyone to wince. Wash just put his head down. Carolina got up, and started to leave.  
"C'mon, it's our day off!" York yelled at her. She just kept walking.

"I guess I should go after her, anyone wanna come?" All the freelancer got up, and followed York.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Damn, he had forgotten about her camo ability. The punch had thrown him into a pillar, and he landed on the ground. Tex raise her BR, and was about to finish it. Seth pushed, and rolled forward. He used his arms to vault forward, and kicked the gun out of her hands.

He stood up, and was instantly hit with multiple, quick punches. He stumbled back, as Tex drew her assault rifle. Seth activated his HUD, and the paint slowed down. He dodged, and ran at Tex. He managed to hit her a few times, before she recovered.

She countered, and was on the offensive again. She threw a barrage of punches that threatened to end the match. That was when Omicron activated the shield. Seth felt the hits stop. Tex was still punching, but none actually landed.

He side stepped a jab, and tried to attack her back. She whipped around, and the punch hit her square in the visor. She stepped back, and was dazed. Seth pulled one of his magnums, and pointed it at her. She bolted forward, and hit his hand, knocking the gun away.

She tried to hit his visor, but he dodged, and got behind her. He kicked her back, sending her forward, and on to the ground. She was about to get up, when a boot caught her side. She was flipped onto her back. Seth was standing over her, his other magnum raised. Then, she turned invisible.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Carolina barged onto the observation deck. She looked at the main console. The fight had been going for fifteen minutes. This amazed her; she had barely survived fifteen minutes against Tex. She shook it off, as the other freelancers entered the room.

"Is it still going?" York asked. North walked up to the control panel.

"Yep. For fifteen minutes and counting." He told them.

"So he's actually fighting Tex?" Wash asked.

"Yeah, what did you think was going on?" York asked.

"Well, I thought he would lose right away." Wash sheepishly said.

"I can't blame ya there." York replied.

On the floor, Seth wasn't doing so well. Tex had gone invisible, and he could find her. His HUD couldn't lock on to her while she was invisible.

"Om, activate heat sensors." Seth's visor changed, and he saw the red outline of Tex, right before she body slammed him.

He flew back, as the smaller frame hit him with a lot of force. His head slammed into a pillar, causing his vision to go blurry under his helmet. He tried to stand, and was wobbly. Tex landed heavy punches onto his helmet.

Seth couldn't defend. So Omicron activated the shield, but the damage was done. The hits had caused his head to start throbbing. Seth ignored it, and kept fighting. Tex couldn't touch him. She threw multiple punches, but she started to get tired after a relentless barrage of fists.

Using his HUD, combined with Tex slowing down, Seth caught her hands. This surprised even Tex. She tried to get free, but nothing worked. Seth was stronger up front, and his shield wouldn't let her break free.

On the observation deck, the freelancers were in awe.

"Did he just catch one of Tex's punches?!" York gasped.

"I didn't think that was physically possible!" Wash exclaimed.

"I'll admit, he's got skill." North added.

"It's just his armor." Carolina shot coldly.

"I'm not saying his armor isn't powerful, but he does have some skill." York said to her. Carolina didn't respond.

Seth had an idea.

"Om, reroute all armor power into the shields. Including HUD power." He told Omicron. His shield brightened, and Seth smiled.

"Alright, now direct all shield power onto my hands."

"Um, that might-" Omicron was cut off.

"I know what it's gonna do, and I'm counting on it." Seth didn't have much time, Tex would get free soon. He waited, until the shield around his body disappeared. Then electricity came out of his hands, and starting shocking Tex.

By putting all of his power into one, small area the power jumped out as electricity, to anything he touched. He could now throw "Electric" punches. Tex pulled her hands away, and jumped back. Seth smiled.

He charged her, and threw electric punches. Each time his fists made contact with her armor, Tex jumped back. Seth kept throwing punches, driving Tex back. It was looking good for him, until Omicron couldn't keep the power going.

Directing all of that power into one area was tiring, and Omicron had lost it. He logged off, too tired to go on. Seth no longer had his AI. Seth paused, as he realized this, and that was all Tex needed. She loaded up, and threw the strongest punch she could. It connected to his visor, with a loud CRACK!

Seth flew back and straight through a pillar. He stopped, as he head landed against the second. He fell to the floor. His headache became too much. It threatened to rip the inside of his head apart. He grabbed his head and screamed.

He finally succumbed the splitting in his head, as a red haze washed over him. He stopped screaming, and looked up, at Tex. His visor was cracked. He stood up and lost all sense of control. He forgot everything, except for crushing her. Beating the black figure to death.

He activated his shield, which put major strain on his body. He didn't care though, for he wasn't thinking straight. After he managed to keep his shield up, he attacked.

He threw punches faster than Tex could even react. He landed several strong hits, driving her back. She tried to attack, but Seth was too fast in his new state. He drove his armor and his body to the limit.

He just kept coming at her. She kept taking it, but she couldn't for much longer. He landed an uppercut the got Tex on the floor. Instead of shooting her with paint, and ending it, he kept hitting her. His vision blurred even more, as the effort to keep going was too much for his body. He convulsed, and his shield shut off.

He kept kicking and punching her though, but now he was vulnerable. She kicked his legs out from under him, and he fell. She quickly got up. She equipped her rocket launcher, as Seth was slowly starting to get up.

She ran up to him and uppercutted him with large weapon, shattering half of his visor. He flipped back, and looked up, straight into the barrel of a rocket launcher. Tex fired, covering him in paint. His vision went black, as one word echoed in his skull.

"_Kill, kill, kill."_


	13. Chapter 13

Tex looked down at the figure below her. It didn't even look human. After she had painted him, she shot another paint rocket at him, covering him in even more of the hardened stuff. A team of medics come on the floor, and ran over to them. They continued to remove the paint from his armor.

Tex stood, deep in thought. Something about his change in fighting style worried her. First, he played it safe, just trying to survive. He could barely keep up his defense against her, let alone fight back. But then, everything about him changed.

He became more apt to just attack her. Almost like he was in a blind rage. He lost any sense of strategy he previously had. She thought back to when his head hit the pillar. That was when he changed. The blow to his head might have been the cause, but then again, maybe not.

She remembered what North had said. He could've snapped at any time. He just chose to do it while they were sparring. Maybe it was _her_ fault. She was the one who made him spar. Even though she knew he wasn't exactly "right".

She looked down, for the paint had been removed from his armor. The left side of his visor was gone. She had shattered when she hit him with the rocket launcher.

It wasn't a clean break though. It was jagged, and criss cross cracks ran along the right side.

She could see his face through the hole. He was defiantly unconscious. The medics put him on a stretcher, and attempted to pick him up. They failed though; the weight of his armor was too heavy for them.

North was the first Freelancer on the floor. He ran over, and he and Tex lifted Penn up. They followed the medics to the recovery bay. They set him on a bed, and let the medics do their work.

The others were waiting, outside the door, when Tex and North walked out. They were instantly bombarded with questions.

"What happened?" York got his question out first.

"Were not sure." North responded.

"Is he okay?" South's question stunned everybody. Nobody had actually thought South cared about anything other than being a grouch, and her brother.

"Again, were not sure. The Docs are taking a look at him now." North told his sister. He had heard something in her voice that surprised him. It was a tone that she had only ever used with him.

They waited, because none of them were sure what to do. So, they stood outside the door, and waited. They stood there for what seemed like hours, but was only twenty minutes. The, a Doctor finally cme out the door. He spoke in a grim voice.

"Your friend is physically is fine." He told them.

A wave of relief washed over everybody, but Carolina. She had noticed something about what he had said.

"What do you mean he's _physically,_ fine?" She asked, although she probably knew the answer.

"He is mentally unstable. We're not sure to what degree, though."

"And what does that mean?" South asked him.

"It means that he's crazy." Carolina said to her

"I wasn't talking to you." She growled toward the other female. South looked back to the Doctor.

"He may not be 'crazy'." He told her." It was more like he was in an intense fit of rage." He added.

"What does that mean?" Wash asked. The others forgot he was even there.

"I'm not going to explain it. I'm not a psychologist." As he said this, Penn was wheeled out of the room, on a bed.

"Where are they taking him?" South asked, worry showing through.

"To solitary confinement." Was his answer, before he walked back into the med bay.

"I guess that means they need to evaluate his mental health." North told them all.

They walked to the solitary confinement cells. It was a floor below the main deck. Nobody really went down there, because they had never needed it. Not until now, that is.

The hall was lined with cells. Each had a thick blast door, with a magnetic lock. The cells consisted of a bed, and padded walls. They only had one light a piece, so there was an eerie glow coming from the small rooms.

They kept walking until they saw the Director, and the Counselor. They each snapped to a salute.

"At ease agents." He said, not even looking at them. He was looking into one of the cells. "I have been told that Agent Pennsylvania was using the training floor, when this occurred?" He asked them.

"Yes sir." Carolina informed him.

"Counselor, keep me informed of his status." The Director said to the other man, before walking off. The other man, soon to walked away, leaving the Freelancers alone. They looked into the cell.

Penn was lying on the bed, still not awake. His jaw was clenched shut, and his fists were gripping at the bed beneath him. He looked strange to the freelancers. They weren't used to a teammate being in this state.

Deciding there was nothing they could do, the freelancers decided to leave. None of them slept that night. They were all thinking of their friend. One person was the most disturbed by this though.

South sat on her bed, and she dealt with feelings she had only ever toward her brother.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The freelancers had the next day off also. They each did their normal morning routine, before meeting for breakfast.

'"Morning guys." North said, in his normal upbeat voice. He got nods, and grunts from the others. "How about after breakfast, we check on Penn?" This caused some looks to be shot at North.

"I think we should." Wash said, backing North up. After minutes of bargaining, the others finally agreed. After they all finished, they were on their way.

The cell block gave Wash the creeps. He never like it down here, and he would never be down here himself. He promised himself that.

They came to where his cell was, and weren't surprised. The Counselor was standing there, talking to somebody. But, nobody was with him. He was talking to somebody _inside _the cell.

"Is there anything else, you would wish to tell me?" They heard the Counselors calm voice. It was what they heard next, that almost struck fear into the soldier's souls.

"No Counselor. That is all." A voice came from the cell. It put the Counselors calm voice to shame. It sounded as if the person speaking felt no emotion at all. The Counselor turned to the agents. He walked past them, and left.

Carolina was the first to look in the cell. Penn was lying on the bed. He wasn't moving, just staring at the ceiling. He looked different. Almost as if nothing mattered to him. He looked void of all emotion.

"Penn?" Carolina said, unsure if she was going to get an answer. Penn stood up, and smiled at her. She felt goosebumps go up her arms. It was the creepiest smile she had ever seen.

"Why, hello Carolina. Such a pleasure to see you." He said, still with no emotion. He walked up to the glass and stared at her. They stayed like this, until Carolina backed away. Maine took her place.

"Hello Maine, nice to see you."

(Growling noise from Maine) Seth smiled at him, which made the large man shiver. It took a lot, to make Maine shiver. Seth sat back on his bed, and lied back down. York was the next to step up.

"Hey ,man, how ya feelin?" York didn't get a response. They took this as their time to leave. After they were back on the main deck, they finally spoke to eachother.

"Jeez, that was creepy." York said aloud, to no one in particular.

"Yeah, you can say that again." Wash replied to him.

"He's not right. In the head I mean." Wyoming said. They all pretty much agreed to his statement.

"Something is messing with his emotions." Tex said. They just kind of looked at her. "They said he was in a fit of rage, right? Now he is super calm. Something is making them change erratically."

They spoke for a while, trying to determine what was wrong with him. They didn't come up with an answer though. The day passed with nothing else eventful happening.

The next morning, all the freelancers were sitting in the mess hall. They had training again, and it was to start soon. They were chatting and eating their breakfast, when Carolina noticed something. A group of marines had just ran down the hall. Right toward the solitary confinement level.

Carolina told the others this, and they ran after them. They got to the cell block, before they stopped. Four armed guards were lying on the floor while five more were wrestling with someone. The gurds threw someone back into the cell. Carolina stepped up

"Soldier, what happened?" the soldier looked at her, then realization washed over his face, when he realized who he was talking to.

"The guards went in to give him food, and he attacked them. He managed to knock four of us out, before we restrained him." He quickly said.

"Okay, you can go now." She told them. The marines left, most carrying one of their unconscious comrades. Then they heard screaming.

It wasn't painful screaming, it was more like angry screaming. They looked into Penn's cell, which was where the noise was coming from.

He was indeed, screaming. He was also pounding on the walls, and throwing himself at the door.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The next few weeks were hectic. Some days Penn was calm, and almost normal. Then others days, he would become enraged and start screaming. Nobody had an answer as to why he did this. Then, one day it stopped. Just like that, and the old Penn was back.

North had gone down to see him between training sessions, and he discovered this. Penn was sitting on his bed, confused. When North walked up, Penn jumped off the bed.

"North! What happened? Where am I?" north was taken back by his almost normal like tone. It still had a hint of his emotionless side in it. North called reported this to the Director. After questions, and another Psych evaluation, Seth was released.

The others explained to him what had happened. At first he didn't believe them. But they showed him his old helmet. The left side of the visor was still missing. Then, the Director insisted on showing him the video of the events. They mother of Invention had a security system, with cameras.

He watched the video, but it wasn't until when he first became his "Other self" as they had started calling it, when he couldn't take it. He got up without a word, and left. Leaving the Director and the freelancers watching the video.

That night, Penn came to York's door. When he opened the door, York was puzzled.

"hey York, I was wondering if you could do me a favor." He said, nervously.

"It depends on the favor."

"You're a good lock picker, right?"

"Best on the ship." York said, smugly.

"Then, can you get me into the storage bay?" York thought for a second. He did like disobeying rules, and breaking protocol. York agreed, and they headed to the storage bay.

York opened the door without incident. The lock hadn't actually been that advanced. Penn told York that was all he needed, and York walked away curious to what he was doing. Why did he want into the storage bay? York would get his answer the next morning.

Seth was up half the night, hauling crates to his room. He got lucky, and no one saw him. He had the crates in his room, by three in the morning. The others could hear faint, mechanical, noises coming from Penn's room that night.

That morning, all the freelancers were at breakfast, except Penn. They wondered where he was, and started to worry he snapped again. Their fears were put to rest, when he walked into the mess hall, in full armor. York had just got his answer.

Penn's visor drew everyone's attention. The jagged crack had been smoothed, and the missing side had been replaced. But, something was different.

The right side of his visor was now white, and the left side had been replaced with black.


	14. Chapter 14

Penn took off his helmet, and sat down. He got some curious looks from the others.

"So _that's _what you were doing!" York said, as Penn sat down.

"Yep, you like it?"

"Dude, it looks fucking badass!" York exclaimed

"Thanks, that's kinda what I was going for." Penn said, grinning.

"And how exactly did you _do this?!_" Carolina shot him.

"I uh, um-me and, uhhhh- ok, ok. York helped me into the storage bay, and I took some stuff."

"York!" Carolina shouted at the tan Freelancer.

"Hey! I didn't know what he was doing! It's not _my _fault!"

"Yeah, but _you_ are the one who let him in." Wash said, earning a glare from York.

"Hey, all York did was let me in, he didn't know what for." Penn told the, all.

They continued their breakfast, with Carolina chewing Penn out, about breaking protocol. After they had finished, the others were called to the briefing room.

Penn went back to his room, knowing he wasn't going on the mission. He wasn't sure when he was going to go on a mission. Hell, he didn't know _if_ he would, after what had happened to him. He sighed, and sat on his bed.

He had the day off, and the others were on a mission. He was bored. He just laid around in his room, until FILLS called him to the Directors office. He got up, and walked to the Directors office. He did not expect this to be good.

After FILLS let him in the door, Penn stood at attention.

"At ease, Pennsylvania." The Director told him, getting up from the chair he was sitting in. Penn waited, as the Director brought up a holo-map in front of them.

The structure he was looking at, looked like some sort of warehouse. Except he could see the alterations that had been done to it. Turrets had a clear line of sight at everything, from the roof. He could also see land mines had been marked on the ground. Somebody really wanted to secure this place.

"As you already know, the other agents were deployed on a mission earlier. This was their location. We encountered unexpected, problems. They need reinforcements. We have chosen you. You will be dropped via drop pod, to their location. Go to the armory, load up with heavy equipment, they have tanks. You will be deployed in ten minutes, dismissed.

Penn stood, shocked for a moment. They were in trouble, and wanted _him?_ He couldn't believe it.

"I would suggest you get moving." The Director told him.

Seth ran back to his room, and armored up. He then proceeded to the armory. He hadn't actually been in there yet, so he was excited. He came to thick blast doors, and FILLS let him in.

He looked around the large room. It had every single weapon you could imagine. There were mini guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, pistols, shotguns and knives. There was also a lot of ammo. Penn started picking weapons.

For himself he chose a sniper, an assault rifle and two magnums. Then, he picked up a rocket launcher, a spartan laser, and a mini gun for separate drop pods. He was about to leave, when something strange caught his eye.

It looked like the hilt of a covenant energy sword, but _different._ He wasn't sure why, but he picked it up, and took it with him. He headed for the drop pod bay.

It was just off from the pelican bay. He walked into a small room, with the pod in the middle. There were smaller pods around it. He loaded his heavy weapons, and extra ammo, into the smaller pods. Then got into the large one. A single thought crossed his mind. It made him smile.

"This is gonna be fun."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"North! Take out those turrets!" South yelled to her brother.

"I can't get a shot! Unless you like the idea of me getting blown up by a tank!" He yelled back. As if to emphasize this, a tanks shell landed near their position.

They had split into two teams. Team one consisted of York, Carolina, Tex Wyoming, and C.T. Team two was Wash, South, North and Maine.

Team one was supposed to be completing the objective, while team two provided support, and a distraction. It was going good, until the tanks came. Team one was already inside, but team two was pinned down.

"North, reinforcement is now available. Throw the marker anywhere." A voice came over North's helmet speakers. He held a small device in his hand.

"Drop is ready!" He yelled to them.

"Then fucking throw it!" South screamed. North stood up, and threw the small device on a near tank. He crouched, as it fired at him. They waited, until a streak of fire came down from the sky.

It landed right on the tank, and both were engulfed in flames. They freelancers just stared at the epic carnage. Then, a glowing figure walked out of the flames.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Penn could feel the gravity, as he free fell in the pod. He felt the gravity fluctuate, as he hit the ground. The door popped open, and smoke filled the pod. He had landed on a tank?!

"Om, activate the shield." He said, as a glowing outline surrounded his figure. The flames wrapped around his body, but the shield protected him. He kept walking straight hoping to clear the flames, and get a clear view of the battle at hand.

He finally hit open ground, and looked around. Two scorpion class tanks were both aiming at him. Activating his HUD, he rolled forward, dodging both shells that exploded behind him. He decided to take the left.

Sprinting straight at it, he vaulted over its top, and landed behind it. A drop pod fell beside him, and popped open. Inside was the rocket launcher. He picked it up, and shot both rockets at the tank. It was instantly blown to metal scrap.

The other tank shot him, and Penn flew back. The shell hadn't actually hit him, but the force of the explosion was what had knocked him back. He stood up, and saw his rocket launcher a few yards to his right. He was about to garb it, when a tank shell got to it first.

He turned to the other tank. It was about fire, and Penn waited for it. As the shell left its barrel, Penn was already moving. He jumped onto the main cannon. The driver tried to throw him off, but he had magnetic boots. Penn pulled the pin on a grenade, and tossed into the tanks barrel.

He jumped off, and was thrown forward as the second tank exploded. He got back on his feet, and looked up.

The men on the turrets had turned their attention to him. Penn took out his sniper, as they unloaded on him. His shield held, but it wouldn't last long. With Omicron helping(because he sucked with a sniper) He aimed in, and started taking out the turret operators.

He had used up almost all of his ammo, when the last man went down. Penn looked back, and saw team two walking toward him.

"Thanks for the save." Wash said, walking up to him.

"No prob, it was fun!" He exclaimed.

"I don't mean to break up the celebration, but we have company!" South shouted, as multiple enemy pelicans dropped down.

A whole army of insurrectionists now stood before them.

**A/N**

**Hey guys! I know it's a short chapter, a just REALLY wanted to type this chapter! I am having a lot of fun writing this! I also wanted to thank you guys for reading, and for the comments. It helps to know what you guys think. I will be working on this, but I may update slower from now on, because of my schedule. So if I don't update, it's not my fault, Tucker did it! So again, thanks. If anybody is wondering, Penn's catchphrase is "This is gonna be fun." **


	15. Chapter 15

**Penn's POV**

North and I were crouched behind a concrete wall. They mass of enemy soldiers were keeping us pinned. I could see Wash, South and Maine, at another barrier across from us.

"We have to do something." North looked at me. I really didn't have a plan, more to the concept of a suicide attempt. If it worked (Omicron informed me it's not likely to) It should keep us alive, I hope.

"I have an idea, cover me." I said to North, looking at the small device in my hands. I tossed the drop marker in the middle of the innie ranks.

I waited, and sure enough, a drop pod fell from the sky, and right in the middle of the innie hoard. It caused a circle like area of enemies to be cleared, around the drop pod.

"NOW!" I yelled to North, before jumping over the barricade, and activating my shield.

North started carving me a path with his sniper. My shield protected from the onslaught of lead the innies threw at me. It was holding strong, but I had to be quick. I sprinted toward the drop pod, running over anyone in my way.

I reached the drop pod right as my shield gave way to the bullets. I could feel the dull THUD, as they hit my armor. I was lucky, and none actually punctured the protective armor. I hit a button on the pod, and its door shot off, revealing a very large mini gun.

I hefted the killing machine out, and prepped it. The innies had stopped firing, and were staring at me. I turned, and pointed the large, hellish gun at them.

"This is gonna be fun."

The words came out of my mouth, as the barrels started turning. The lead flew out at amazing speeds, mowing done their ranks with ease. I turned in a circle, not giving them to a chance to fire at me. I was having so much fun.

I kept shooting, and they kept falling. I saw the others start firing too, trying to help. I brought North up on my com.

"North, get your team, and go help team one!"

"We can't just leave you here!" I could hear sniper shots in the background.

"North, I'll be fine, they need you guys more!" I waited for him to respond.

"Okay, just be careful!" He said into his com, before ending the link. I looked, and saw them heading for the warehouse, while I kept shooting.

The gun kept spraying, as I kept my finger on the trigger. I kept this up for a while, until the mini gun started to overheat. I threw it down, and Om activated my shield.

I sprayed with my assault rifle, aiming for headshots to conserve ammo. The innies quickly closed the gap, after the mini gun had stopped. I kept firing, until my rifle ran out. Then I pulled out my two magnums.

I side stepped an innie that got to close, and pistol whipped the back of his head. I looked back up, and kept firing my dual magnums. I put the last clips into my pistols, and emptied them a second later. I was now weapon less.

I tried to fist fight them, but it failed, horribly. Each time I would knock one down, another would take his place. The bullets threatened to take my shield down any minute. Then I remembered it. The weird energy sword I had picked up!

I took off my waist, and held it. I could find a button or switch on it. I had no idea how to use the damned thing! I started shaking it, and when I swished it down, it activated.

The blade was bluish purple like an energy sword, but it looked more like a katana. I brandished it, and started cutting down their ranks again, literally. At first, they were dumbfounded by the new weapon, but that wore off after I killed about thirty of their teammates.

I hacked and slashed, not really used to using a sword. Eventually I got in a groove. Swish. Swish. Death.

I kept swinging, decapitating heads, and slicing rifles in half. I was starting to get boxed in. I kept it up though, as more and more surrounded me. I was sweating buckets, and felt weak. That's when I felt it. The throbbing at the base of my skull.

The same thing that made me lose control against Tex. It felt different though, almost like it wanted to help. I figured "What the hell, I'm probably gonna die anyway" Before I let it partially take over.

I still had control, but I felt stronger. It _wanted_ control, but I fought it back. I used its anger, and started my last stand.

Everything was a haze from then on. I was still slashing, cutting them down, but I didn't really care. All I cared about was their death. The blood that poured out of them. I was physically and mentally exhausted. Then, even the red haze, couldn't keep me up.

I fell onto my knees, unable to stand. An innie tackled me, and started punching. He couldn't break through my bullet resistant armor though, idiot. I was fading, and I could feel it coming, the darkness. The last thing I saw was the innie that was on top me head exploding from a sniper shot, and I large man in white armor charging through them. Then I blacked out.

I woke up to bouncing, and quit murmuring. I lifted my drooping head slowly, and looked around. We were in a pelican. I felt drained, and even lifting my head was almost impossible. I groaned quietly, but it was enough for the others to hear.

"Hey man, how ya feelin?" York, who was sitting beside me, asked.

"Like shit." I responded.

"Well that can be expected." He said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, just wanting a straight answer.

"Wash, you wanna tell him?" York said, glancing over to Wash.

"When we found you, by count, you had killed about, 237 innies." Wash said, still amazed by this.

"I-I did what?!" I asked, not believing that I had killed that many.

"Yeah, it's true. You gave us enough time to complete the mission." Carolina said.

I sat there and thought about that information. I had killed 237? That couldn't be true, could it? Apparently I had fallen asleep again. Because Wash was shaking me, and saying we were home. We all got off the pelican, and headed for the debriefing session.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

After the debriefing, Penn went to get a shower, while the others headed for the mess hall. He was looking forward to a hot shower. He took a long shower, and then changed back into his normal clothes.

On his way to the mess hall, he passed the leader board. He looked at it confused. It had been changed. After a minute, the confusion turned to joy. Penn was now number 5 on the board. He had been moved in front of Wash.

Penn continued to the mess, now in a good mood. This mood didn't last however. When he opened the double doors, he stopped dead.

South was cuddled next to Wyoming, and they were holding hands. Penn felt his stomach drop. Then a flood of emotions. Sadness, anger, loneliness. He turned, and jogged back out of the mess hall. What he didn't see however, was Carolina, and a new agent watching him as he left.

Penn was now running, back to his room. That was when he ran into Hawaii, along with two of his lackey friends.

"Hello again Pennsylvania." Hawaii said in a grim tone.

"I'm not in the mood." Seth growled. His voice was threatening, and caused the two unknown agents to step back. Hawaii took a step closer, though.

"Oh really?" He said. Then, all three man charged.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO **

Back at the mess hall, the agents were welcoming a new arrival. She was female, had long black hair, and was 19. She wore a deep maroon armor, with dark blue highlights. She was the kind of person people liked to be with.

They were talking about her, when she noticed the one she thought was Carolina, was staring at something. She turned to where the other female was looking. She saw a man, probably 20, with short brown hair. He was wearing a black shirt, and black shorts. Then, he turned, and ran out of the room.

Nobody but Carolina and her, had seen this happen. She turned to the other, and asked her a question.

"That, would be agent Pennsylvania." She responded, still looking at the spot where he had just been.

"Penn? Where?' York asked, hearing the name.

"We just saw him, before he ran out of the room." Carolina responded.

"Did he look okay?" York asked.

"Not really…" Carolina trailed off, in thought

"Guys, we have problem." York addressed the table.

"What kind of problem?" Wash asked.

"The Penn kind." York shot back.

"We should probably check on him." North said.

"He isn't a little kid, he can take care of himself." Carolina rebutted.

That's when they heard the screams. The whole table got up, and ran out the door. They only got so far, when they found three men lying on the floor.

One was Hawaii, and he was unconscious. The other two were holding various parts of their bodies, and moaning. The group gave each other nervous looks, before they were running down the hall, right for Penn's room. They came to the door, and knocked. There was no response, so they let themselves in.

Nobody was in the room. His armor was gone, and if memory served her, Carolina remembered he hadn't been wearing his armor.

"Training room. Let's go." She said to them The new girl lagged behind, taking this all in.

They entered the observation deck, and sure enough, Penn was on the floor. He was weaponless, and twelve robots were in defensive stances in front of him.

"He can't take all those out on his own?" the new girl asked, puzzled.

"Wait and see." North responded, humor in his voice. Within minutes, all the bots were destroyed, and Penn told FILLS to bring up more. She did, and he went at it again. Ripping the bots apart. The agents could tell he wasn't training, he was venting. About what, they weren't sure

"We should go, he might be down there a while." York said. Everyone but the new girl agreed with this.

"If it's okay, I'm gonna stay here." She said.

"Hey, it's up to you." York said, before they left her there, watching him.

She sat down near the main console, and looked over the floor. She watched him, ripping the bots apart, and destroying them. She just sat there, and watched, waiting for him to finish.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Seth finally felt a little bit better. Destroying robots usually did that for him. After two hours of endless robot slaughter, he finished. He was tired, and still felt like crap. Why would South do that to him? He thought they had something. She had kissed him for fucks sake!

He stopped thinking about it, and left the training floor. He walked slowly, toward his room, before he was stopped. In front of him, was a figure wearing maroon armor, with blue highlights. He looked at her face, and let his mouth drop under his visor.

She was beautiful. She had long black hair, and a face that glowed. She was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. He just stared at her, until she spoke.

"Hey, I'm the new agent. The names Delaware." She said, extending a hand to him.

Penn, still being in a piss poor mood, rejected the hand shake.

"And I don't care." He said, before shoving past her, and continuing to his room.

Delaware watched him walk down the hall. She was usually good at reading people. She knew Carolina was the leader, Maine the muscle, C.T. the silent type, York was down to earth, Wyoming the jokester, North the older brother, South the grouch and Wash the nervous one.

But for some reason, she couldn't read him. There was just, _something_ about him. That something intrigued her. She walked back to her room, and thought about this. She was determined to find out more about him. She was going to, she planned on it.


	16. Chapter 16

Penn walked out of the Directors office. After he had woken up, FILLS had said the Director wished to see him. He entered the office, and listened. He rambled on about protocol and not harming other agents outside of training.

Penn brushed it off, those assholes had it coming. They attacked him, not the other way around. He stepped into his room, and shut the door. Omicrons small figure appeared next to Penn's head.

"That guys a dick" the AI said.

"Yeah, but he's the boss, so…"

"So? Those guys attack you, and you get yelled at? That is fucked up." The AI sounded restless.

"Okay, it says here, we have a match in ten" Penn said, looking over his schedule.

"Great, I feel like kicking some ass." The AI put, smugly.

"What if it's like, Carolina, or Tex?"

"Tex may be a problem, but we can beat Carolina."

"I wouldn't be so sure." The AI was taken back Penn's lack of confidence.

"And why not?!" The AI asked, almost angrily.

"Well, she's Carolina." Penn responded, getting tired of the conversation.

"Great answer, dickhead"

"Aw, shut up." Penn told his AI. He started putting his armor on. He stopped when only his helmet was left. He remembered when his visor had shattered.

"Remember" wasn't really the right word though. It was all black to him. He couldn't think of the seconds before, or after, the glass had shattered. It was almost like something was blocking it out.

Penn sighed, slid the helmet over his head, and walked out of his room. He walked down the hall, and toward the training floor.

His schedule hadn't said who he was facing, so he wasn't sure who he was about to fight. When he came to the large blast doors, he stopped. His AI started going over strategy. It was difficult, not knowing who they were facing.

Penn opened the doors, and walked into the large, empty room. Well, it was empty, except for the maroon and blue armored girl that stood before him.

_Why did it have to be her?_

_Do you have a problem with her? If you do…._

_What?! No! I just don't like her, she annoys me._

_Uh huh, right. You do know that I'm inside your head, and can hear what you think, right?_

Penn stopped talking to his AI, when FILLS said the match was about to start. He grabbed his normal array of weapons, an assault rifle, a BR, two magnums, and some grenades.

The game was free for all. Pillars rose from the floor, blocking the view for both freelancers. Penn waited, just wanting to get this over with. The seconds seemed like minutes, before FILLS began the round.

"Game begin in 3…..2…..1, begin!"

Penn had Omicron mark her on his HUD. She was trying a newbie style, flanking maneuver. She was trying to come up his left side, and then she would switch to left. He knew where she was, so that was that.

He walked straight into the middle of the floor. She was behind him now, still thinking she could flank him. Penn started walking the path she had just gone, but now he was behind her.

He caught sight of her armor, and fired his rifle, hoping to end it. There was a flash, and she was gone. Penn stood there, confused.

"Om, where did she go, what just happened?"

"Scans indicate large power fluctuation. That means she has a thruster pack."

"Damn, mark that for next time, and help me calculate where she's gonna go with it."

Penn walked cautiously; perhaps he had underestimated the newbie. He kept walking slowly toward her red blip, she was to his left, and four pillars away. He walked slowly, trying to be quiet.

When he came to the pillar she was behind, he rolled in front of it and fired. Another flash, and she was gone. But this time Omicron had counted on that, and targeted her trajectory.

Seth spun around as a blur of maroon tried to attack him. She threw sloppy punches, obviously not a regular in the hand to hand department. He blocked, and waited for an opening.

It came, when she threw a bad left hook. It left her unbalanced, and Penn went for it. He started off with a round house that made her stumble back. He went in with his fists, landing multiple blows to her body, before hitting her visor with as much force as he could.

As this happened, an image of his fight with Tex flashed through his mind. It made him pause, which let Delaware, who had been knocked to the ground, get back on her feet. She took notice of his pause, and started punching.

Penn didn't even notice the hits driving him back, as more images flashed through his mind. They blinded his consciousness, and made him forget everything else.

Delaware kept hitting, and Penn finally hit the floor. He lied there, not really sure what was going on. Delaware aimed her own rifle, and fired. Before he knew what he was doing, Penn's shield activated. The paint round bounced off, confusing the shit out of Delaware.

She figured it was a fluke, and went to fire again. But her finger never pulled the trigger. Faster than she thought possible, Penn was in a crouch, and went to throw a powerful uppercut. She activated her thruster pack, and was thrown sideways, away from the punch.

She looked at him, and noticed something. His stance was different. It looked almost like he was _angry_. She ducked from a jab he had thrown at her. She kept dodging, using small spurts from her pack, to keep away from the punches.

She saw an opening, and threw a hook at his side. Nothing happened. There was an orange outline that had appeared, and it blocked her punch. She was stunned by this. She looked up from his side, and saw a black fist, right before it connected with her visor.

She was thrown, and hit a pillar. It cracked with force she carried. She slid down, and was now on the floor. Her body ached, and she prepared for the sting of a paint round. Instead, she felt something around her neck. Before she could react, she was hefted off the floor, a hand clutching her neck.

Delaware could barely breathe. She looked into Penn's double colored visor. She was begging in her mind for him to put her down. She tried to speak, but the hand clamped around her throat prevented it.

Then, he began punching her. It was everywhere. Her stomach, her head, he just kept punching. She went limp. Letting the fist make contact, over and over. Her body cried out in pain, but she held on.

Penn had felt the throbbing in his head, before he lost it. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but it felt _good._ He could vaguely recognize the feeling of his arm moving, but he didn't know why. It was only when a voice yelled in his head, that he stopped.

_STOP IT!_

Penn was suddenly aware of everything. His heavy breathing, and the girl he held around the throat. He dropped Delaware, and she fell in heap to the floor. Penn felt so many things enter his mind. Fear, anger, confusion. He turned, and ran off the training floor, Leaving Delaware on the floor.

He ran to his room, and slammed the door. He didn't even bother to take his armor off, before he sat on his bed. He pulled his knees to his chest, and started rocking back and forth. Thought s ran through his mind. _What was wrong with him? Why did he just do that? _

These thoughts stayed, and Penn just sat there, rocking back and forth.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Delaware wasn't found, until North, York, Wash and Maine were ready for a match. The four men walked onto the floor, and got a nasty surprise. Lying in the middle of the floor, was an unconscious Delaware. They ran up to her, and tried to help.

"Delaware!" York said, as he shook the girl. A moan escaped her lips.

"At east she's o.k.!" Wash said, relieved. Delaware, groaned, and sat up. She took off her helmet, and rubbed her head.

"What happened to you?" York asked, concerned.

"I had a match." She told them.

"Okay, well what _happened?_" York asked.

"It was against Pennsylvania." She mumbled, almost quietly enough for no one to hear. They did anyway, and got worried looks on their faces.

"_Where did he go?" _Maine growled angrily.

"Whoa there big guy." Wash said, a little frightened.

"_No, I'm going to let him do this again!" _Maine growled, making Wash step back

"Do what again?" Delaware asked, not sure what was going on. York sighed.

"He's done this before. From what he has told us, he kinda loses control of his anger, and goes a little crazy."

"That would have been nice to know _before_ I had a match against him." She said, looking at York.

The four men helped Delaware up, while she insisted that she was fine. And she was, physically speaking. Mentally, she wasn't sure what to make of all this. It was almost time for lunch, and she was hungry.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO **

Delaware sat at the table, and ate her lunch. The other agents were there to. They kept asking her questions about the match. It annoyed her slightly, but she answered them.

"Speaking of which, has anyone seen Penn?" Wash asked.

"Not since the match earlier." York responded.

"I think he's in his room." North said.

They all kept chatting, until lunch was over. Then they went on with their day. There were matches, and training. Delaware mostly just watched. The rest of the day went pretty quick. It wasn't until they were eating dinner, that something interesting happened.

They had all just been eating and talking, when a man burst in screaming. The freelancers knew who it was immediately. Agent Hawaii marched toward their table, still yelling.

"Where is he?!" He spat at them.

"He who?" York asked, trying to be funny.

"That prick Pennsylvania!" He screeched into York's ear.

"Calm down Hawaii." North told the angry freelancer.

"Calm down? Ill calm down after I bash that assholes face in!" With that, Hawaii marched off, leaving the table behind.

"What's his problem?" Delaware asked the table.

"Hawaii and Penn have…history." York told her.

"I'm gonna say the bad kind?"

"Yep."

"He does raise a good question though." Wash stated, earning a look from the table.

"What point would that be Wash?" Tex asked, causing Wash to flinch.

"That we haven't seen Penn all day." Wash said, still frightened by Tex.

"That is true." North added.

"Ok, all in favor of going to see if he is alright?" Tex asked the table. Everybody but Carolina raised their hand. They all stared at her.

"Ok! Fin

" She grumbled.

North was the one to knock on Penn's door. No sounds came from the room. They waited, and still nothing.

"Should we just go in?" Delaware asked.

North tried the door, it wasn't locked. He opened it, and they stepped inside. The lights were off, but the door provided enough to see.

Armor pieces were scattered across the floor, along with other articles of clothing. Penn was lying on his bed, facing away from them. North walked up, and sat down next to him.

"Hey buddy, how's it going?" North didn't get a response.

Penn wasn't sleeping either; he was just staring at the wall. North stood up, and shrugged. They left the room, and grouped in the hall.

"North? What's wrong with him?" Delaware asked.

"I'm not sure."

North's response worried everybody. They all went back to their rooms, for It was getting late. Delaware went back to her room, and tried to sleep. She tried, but couldn't. So, she after lying in bed for an hour, she decided to take a walk.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Delaware had been walking past the observation deck, when she heard something. She walked onto the deck, and saw Tex.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Delaware asked her.

"No, so I went for a walk." Tex responded.

"Me too."

Delaware looked to the floor. Penn was in full armor, with a room full of robots. She wasn't exaggerating; the whole training floor was a sea of bots. They were all weaponless, while Penn was dual wielding paint, assault rifles. He was gunning them down, as they came close.

"What is his problem?" Delaware asked. Tex looked curiously to her. " I mean, one second, he's moping around, all depressed, than the next, he's doing _that_." She said, pointing to the floor.

"I'm not sure, but he has been doing this a lot lately, late night training, I mean." Tex said.

"It's just so fucking weird." Delaware said, and Tex nodded.

"Hey, we go clubbing every other Friday night, and tomorrow is Friday. You wanna come?" Tex asked.

"Sure, I guess." Delaware responded.

"You'll have fun, trust me."

The two females watched the robot fight, before heading back to bed.

"Night Tex."

Night Delaware."

"Tex, you guys can call me Del." She said, before heading back to bed.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The next went slow for everyone. They were excited for going out that night. It was a normal day, except Penn never came out of his room. It was only an hour before they were set to leave, that this beco,mes a problem.

"We should invite him." North says.

"He is just gonna say no, or not answer." Carolina rebutted.

"Yeah, well we should ask." North said again. Carolina put her hands up, surrendering. They walked to his door and knocked. No response.

"See, I told you." Carolina said. Then the door opened.

Penn looked bad. His hair was ruffled and dirty, and his eyed were bloodshot. He just stared at them.

"Do you wanna come with us tonight?" North asked. They stood, and waited for him to answer.

"Maybe." Was his response, before closing the door.

An hour later, everyone was on the pelican. Everyone except for Penn.

"C'mon North, he's not coming." York said, sitting across from North

"Just give it a minute."

"North, we are-"Carolina was cut off when North smiled.

They all looked toward the hangar bay door. Penn had just walked in, and he was coming toward the pelican. He got in, and sat down next to York. Penn had fancy black shirt, and pants on. He had also showered.

They took off, and were on their way. Penn had a look in his eyes that told the others not to speak to him.

When the y entered the club, it was the same thing as before. York and Carolina went together, Wash and CT and Wyoming and South. Penn at down at the bar, and ordered a beer. Del had decided to just go dance with the crowd.

About three hours in, Penn was drunk. He normally didn't let himself get drunk, but he made an exception for the night. He looked toward the crowd, and saw South and Wyoming. He felt sick to jis stomach, and ordered another beer.

Del saw him sitting there, alone, and decided to sit with him. She sat down and said,

"Hey, you looked lonely." Penn just took another drink of his beer. She spoke again,

"Look, about the match, it's not-" She was cut off by Penn slamming his beer down.

"It's not what? Not my fault? I almost fucking killed you!" He practically yelled at her

"Okay, so there has to be a logical explanation for that." She said, trying to cheer him up. Penn laughe3d darkly at his

"You don't get it, do you? I can't control it, I am a fucking _monster_." He let that hang in the air, before he spoke again. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to be alone." With that, Del got up, and went back to the dance floor.

They left the club at about 3:30. They were all extremely drunk except for Tex and Del. Del had drank, but not enough to get fully fledged drunk.

They landed in the hangar bay, and the drunk freelancers stumbled around. Penn was the worst, he could barely even stand. He tried getting to his room, but Del thought he was going fall over any second. He almost did once, but she caught him.

She helped him into his room. Penn drunkenly plopped onto his bed. Del looked at him and may have been the alcohol, but she leaned in, and very quickly slid her lips along his. When she pulled back, he was unconscious. She walked to his door, before turning around.

"_You're not a monster." _She whispered, before shutting his door, and walking back to her own room.


	17. Chapter 17

Penn woke up with one helluva hangover. He groaned, because Omicron was screaming something in his head. He sounded happy.

"Om, could ya quiet down please?" Penn asked his AI There was a pause, and Omicron merely chuckled.

"You don't remember, do you?"

Penn thought back, he really _couldn't_ remember anything from the previous night. This scared him, what if he did it again, the anger lapse? Omicron hearing his partners worried thoughts, laughed again.

"Here, just let me show." He said. And a small holographic screen appeared in front of them.

Penn could tell they were in his room. Actually, Del had _carried_ him into the room. She helped him onto his bed, and then she leant forward. He instantly knew what was going on, and felt himself go pale. Omicron, who was still laughing, ended the video.

Penn got up, and bolted for his bathroom. He emptied his stomach contents into the toilet. He walked out of the bathroom, and growled to Omicron.

"If you show anyone this, and I mean _anyone_, I will shove you into the smallest computer I can find, with no internet." Omicron stopped laughing, and got quiet. Penn literally had to force himself to go get breakfast.

He walked slowly, still fighting the hangover. He moved slowly, but finally reached the mess hall. He walked in, and stopped. The only people sitting at their usual table, were Tex, and Del. They were talking about something, and hadn't noticed him walk in.

He got a tray, and food, and also some coffee. He tried to leave, and head for his room, but Tex yelled to him.

"Hey! Penn come here!" She yelled from the table. Penn groaned, he really didn't want to do this. Maybe if the others were here, like Wash or York or North to back him up, but not alone.

He sat down, beside Tex, opposite of Del. He saw Del looked nervous, just like he did. Then, Tex smiled, and got up from her seat, and left. This made a blush come to Del's cheeks. They sat in silence, until Penn remembered that he had yelled at her last night, at the club.

"Hey, I'm sorry I yelled at you last night." He said, looking at her.

"It's okay." She said sheepishly.

"And I wanted to say thanks for helping me into my room, too." He added. Del froze at his words, and stammered a response.

"Y-you r-remember that?" She asked, her face becoming even more red.

"Yeah, no. Om showed me a video of it." He said.

"And, it showed….everything?" She asked, meeting his gaze.

"Um, yeah." Now he felt heat rising to his face.

_Make your move_

Penn heard Omicron whisper in his mind. He steeled his nerves, and did the craziest thing he had ever done. He leaned over the table, and put his mouth against hers.

She didn't resist, and instead, moved closer to him. They stayed like this, until a small grunt came from their left. They broke apart, and both immediately felt like their faces were on fire. York was standing there, along with the other, half asleep, freelancers

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt anything." York said, grinning. Penn literally ran out of the room, making the all the freelancers laugh, except for Delaware. She sat there, blushing, and utterly speechless.

Penn was in his room, not believing what he had just done. Why the hell had he done it? He didn't know. He got up, when someone knocked on his door. Tex stood before him, grinning wickedly.

"Finally mad your move, huh?" She said.

"What?! How did- You weren't even there!" Penn said, franticly.

"Well, when I came back, she was just sitting there, and she was red. It kind of explains itself." She said, holding back a laugh.

"Ugh." Was his only response.

"You did good, trust me." Tex said, before walking off.

Tex was right, in the next three weeks, Penn and Del had become very close. They weren't only lovers, but also a team. It was on one particular day, the day Del was scheduled to get her AI.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO **

Penn had a mission that day, and decided to stop in Del's room before heading out. He didn't even knock, and let himself in. She wasn't awake yet, and was still in bed. Her black hair was messy, and Penn just smiled.

He sat next to her, and shook her body. She groaned in protest, but that ended when Penn gave her a quick kiss. She was starting to wake up, and leaned on her elbows, and returned his favor. They let go of each other, and Del started to protest.

"Do you have to go?"

"Yes, I have a very important mission." He said, smiling at her

"But I have implantation today!" She nudged her head against his chest.

"I know," He said stroking her hair. "And you'll do fine, trust me." He gave her another kiss, and stood up.

"I'm scheduled to leave in ten, I gotta go." He said, starting for the door.  
"Be careful. She said, as he left.

"I'll be back before you wake up from surgery." He told her, before walking down the hall.

Penn walked into the hangar bay, and saw his team was already there. It was North, York, and Carolina. He would be with North, and York and Carolina would be together. Two teams, two objectives.

Penn grabbed his equipment, and climbed on to the pelican. He sat next to North, and York and Carolina were across from them.

"Ok, North, Penn, you two are going in west of our drop point. Me and York will go in east." Carolina said to them. They discussed they plan, until they reached the LZ. They dropped down, and parted ways.

The complex was a large, one story building. It had a network of underground tunnels, which was where they were headed. Before they could get to the building, they had to cross a large courtyard. It was long, and had small rooms on the walkway that surrounded it.

"Careful, this is prime area for-" North was cut off by the crack of a sniper rifle. "SNIPER!" North yelled out. But it was too late; Penn didn't even have time to move, before he felt the round pass through his right shoulder.

He fell to the ground, the world becoming a blur around him. He could hear the echoing voice of North, but couldn't tell what he was saying. All he could feel were the waves of pain that emitted from his shoulder. It was pure agony for him. Penn must have blacked out, because when he opened his eyes again, he was slumped behind a concrete wall.

"Carolina, I have wounded! Objective is no longer a go." He heard North on his com. He told Omicron to lock up his right arm. The armor froze, and lessened the bleeding, but didn't stop it.

"North, we have to move." Penn's voice was hoarse, but he would be damned before he let a mission fail.

"You're hurt, and bleeding. We're not going anywhere." North told him.

"Om has locked up my shoulder armor, it slowed the bleeding, we can move."

"No, besides, that sniper is still pressing us." North said, peeking over the wall, which was rewarded with another loud crack. Penn, much to North's protest, stood up. He told Omicron to put half power intot he life support system. That helped him stay on his feet.

"Wait here." Penn said, before he walked out from behind the wall. He could hear North yelling something, but it was blocked out by a loud crack.

This time, the bullet never hit its target. Instead, it bounced off inches from the target. Penn kept walking forward, and the sniper kept firing. But he couldn't his target; the bullets just kept bouncing off.

Eventually, Penn came to the ramp that lead to the sniper nest. He deactivated his shield, and put all power into life support. He could move easier, now that his armor was doing most of the work. He entered the sniper nest, and was hit with the butt of a sniper rifle.

He still couldn't use his right arm, so he was already at a disadvantage. The sniper pulled out a large knife, and went for Penn's throat. Penn ducked, and grabbed the snipers arm, twisting it. The knife fell out of his hand, and clattered to the floor.

The sniper used his other arm, and hit Penn in the gut. He hit the floor, and the sniper was upon him. Before he could end it, his head had a hole in it. North stood behind him, sniper rifle raised. He helped Penn up.

"That was really stupid." He said.

"Yeah, but there goes our sniper problem." Penn replied. "Alright, we keep going, to the objective."

"Penn your hurt." North told him

"Not bad enough that we can't complete the mission." Penn shot back.

They kept moving, and entered the tunnels. Most of the guards had been drawn toward Carolina and York. That meant they could pass with ease. They walked to where their objective was. Although, they weren't taking the objective, they were destroying it.

The objective was the research facility they had entered. They were at its core, and North started setting charges. Carolina and York were the ones who had to extract something, Penn and North were the demolition crew.

After the charges had been set, they headed for Carolina's position. Penn had started to lag behind North. Even with his armor locked up, he was losing a good amount of blood. The life support was failing, and the pain was almost unbearable.

York and Carolina were in a fire fight, when they reached them. North had almost carry Penn halfway there, because he couldn't stand anymore. He was losing too much blood, and would die soon, without help.

"Stay here, I'm going to help the others." North said, before joining the fire fight. Penn was behind a wall, and started losing consciousness. He could see Caroline and York over him, North was providing cover. He couldn't tell what they were saying. It sounded like another language to him.

That's when Agent Pennsylvania slumped over, and a recovery beacon went off on the mother of invention.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Delaware had just woken up from her surgery, and her head was pounding. She looked around, and she was in the recovery room. Four people sat in chairs around her. She could make them out. Tex, Wyoming, South and Maine.

"Hey guys." She tried to smile. Tex was the first to speak.

"How ya feeling? Implantation can be tough."

"Okay, I guess." Her head wasn't as bad, and her mind was clearing from the drugs. Then she noticed something.

"Where's Penn?" She asked them. Tex got a funny look on her face, and spoke quitly.

"His recovery beacon went off thirty minutes ago." She said.

Del was stunned. It was like she couldn't process Tex's words.

"He is in surgery right now, but he lost a lot of blood. Almost _too_ much. The doctors aren't sure if he's going to make it or not." Tex added.

Delaware had finally realized what Tex was saying. She couldn't stop the tears from running down her face. Delaware cried on Tex's shoulder, until a very grim looking doctor walked in the room.

**A/N**

**Hey! If the chapter isn't good, I understand why. I'm not used to writing a chapter with so many feels. Thanks for reading, and leave a comment.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N**

**Hey people! I would like to thank you all for reading my story. It just recently passed two thousand views! Thanks, this is my first ever fanfic. I promise I will get a new chapter up soon. But in the mean time, check out another fic Im writing called, RvB Mind games. Again, thanks for all your comments, and support!**

**Phantom117. Is out!**


	19. Chapter 19

Del was cleared to leave the recovery within the hour. She felt fine, but something was _different_. She couldn't really tell what though, so she shook it off.

She walked into the mess hall, and was greeted by her teammates. She put on a small smile, but it didn't match her mood. She was scared, and stressed out. They weren't sure if Penn was going to survive. She wasn't sure she could handle it if he didn't.

She relied on him. She trained with him, ate with him, she did everything with him. She _needed _him. What if he wasn't there anymore? What would she do then? Forgetting her worries, Del sat at the table.

"How ya feeling?" North asked, as she sat

"Better." Was her simple response. The others could tell she wasn't telling the truth.

"Is it the AI, or you know who?" York asked, tentatively. Del let out a sad sigh.

"It's a little bit of both, I guess. I mean, what if I hadn't had implantation today? What if I went on the mission? I could have helped him; I could have-"Del was cut off by North.

"That wouldn't have mattered anyway. The Director wouldn't have let go on the mission. Besides, he made the choice to go on, not anyone else."

Del gave North a look that could kill. She was sad, but not sad enough to not get pissed off.

"Okay, well, can we see our new friend?" York asked Del.

"I'm not sure, he hasn't really said anything to me yet. What do I do?"

"Just be gentle with him, coax him out." York answered. He had experience with AI, Del did not.

"C'mon out, meet some friends." Del whispered, almost to herself. They waited, but nothing happened.

"I guess he doesn't-"Wash was cut off, when a small glowing figure appeared next to Del. He looked just like a smaller version of a normal person. Given the fact he was a hologram, and glowed a bright red and blue, just like Del's armor.

"Hi there " Del said, making the small figure jump. His voice was smooth, and very calm.

"Hello, I am Zeta. Pleased to meet you." He said, addressing the table.

"Hello Zeta, Im York." York sad, leaning toward the Ai, trying to get a better look. Zeta looked at York, in a confused manor.

"York, would you please tell me why my scans indicate that that would like to mate with her?" Zeta said, pointing to Carolina. York almost fell off his seat.

"What?! It's not- I mean. Its-"York started stuttering, and Carolina looked utterly shocked.

"Oh c'mon York, it was kind of obvious." Wash pointed out, trying not to laugh. York glared at Wash, who regretted saying anything in the first place. Del was also trying to suppress a giggle, at her AIs words.

"He's the fragment of humanity. He really doesn't know any better." Del tried apologizing to York, but she kept laughing when she tried.

"Yeah, well…." York started mumbling. They whole table, save for Carolina, burst out laughing.

After they calmed down, they started introducing themselves to Zeta. After they did, they asked if he had any more questions. Tis was a bad idea, especially for Wash,

"Why does Wash keep glancing at CT?" The AI asked, and Wash froze, as they all looked at him, even CT.

"Wash, would you care to answer Zeta?" York asked, finally exacting his revenge for Wash's earlier words.

"Well, I um- It's just, I." Wash topped talking, and out his head down. This drew more laughter from the table.

"Hey, you wanna see what he can do?" York asked, looking to Del

"I dunno…" Del trailed off.

"Aw c'mon, it's really fun with an AI!" York insisted. Del groaned, and gave in.

"Fine, meet on the floor in five." She said, before getting up, and exiting the mess hall.

Del walked back to her room. She opened the door, and started putting her armor pieces on. She wasn't surprised when CT, her roommate, opened the door.

"Hey." CT said, Del could tell something was bugging her. You don't room with a person, and not get to know them.

"What is it?" Del asked, curious. It took CT a moment to answer, but when she did, her voice was lace with embarrassment.

"What did Zeta mean earlier, when he said Wash was looking at me?" Del almost laughed at her question, but she held back.

"That means he _likes_ you!" She practically shouted to her roommate. CT blushed, and fumbled to form words.

"N-no!" She said, shocked at her answer. Del started giggling even harder."C-could he? Really?

"Yes silly! I can't believe you haven't noticed it until now! He makes it so friggin obvious!" Del was holding her sides from laughing so hard. CT just blushed even deeper.

"I have to go now." Del said, stepping around her frozen friend.

"We will talk more about this later!" CT yelled, as Del left the room.

It was a rather short walk to the training floor. She walked in, and York was already waiting. She looked up, and saw the outlines of the other freelancers on the observation deck.

"Alright, just normal lock down paint. You against me, AIs allowed." York informed her, before he walked to the other end of the floor. He told FILLS to start the program, and pillars rose from the floor.

"Round start in, 3…..2…1, round begin!" FILLS chirped over the speakers.

Del cautiously moved through the outside layer of the pillars. She knew York was good, number three on the board, to be exact. She wielded only a pistol, the same for York.

Del was moving around a corner, when the first shot was fired. Zeta had activated her thruster pack, before it could hit. York ducked back behind another pillar, and Del lost sight of him. She followed his path, but couldn't find him.

Her pack activated itself again, when York leaned out from an opposite pillar, and fired. She fired a round at him, but he rolled away and came up to a knee. Del was thrown sideways, behind a pillar, to avoid the paint.

She leaned out, and didn't see him. She rounded the corner slowly, looking for movement. That's when she felt the barrel of a pistol to the back of her head.

"Check." Del groaned. "Mate." York fired a single round onto her head, effectively ending the round.

The paint was removed from her helmet, as the pillars disappeared from view. She stood up, and rolled her shoulders.

"Good game." York said, holding out ah and to her. She shook it.

"Same to you." They both turned, when the blast doors opened, and Wash ran in.

"He's awake!" Wash yelled, still running toward them. Del was out of the room in flash, leaving Wash and York standing there, before they also ran out.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Delaware burst into the recovery room, and saw Penn. He was lying in a bed, and was really pale. She ran up to him, and threw her arms around him.

"Ow, ow, ow." Penn murmured, his voice was weak.

"Oh, shit, sorry!" Del said, releasing him. They looked at each other, until the other freelancers came running in.

"Hey! You're alive!" York said ecstatically

"Yeah, Doc says I'm lucky." Penn said, voice still small.

"When are they letting you out of here?" Wash asked.

"Not for another week." Penn said, annoyance clear in his voice.

"That sucks." Wash said, feeling sorry for him.

"That's not the worst part." Penn practically groaned. He continued to lift the bee sheet off of his right arm. On it was a large sling type contraption, along with a lot of bandages.

"Doc said the bullet did some major damage in there. It's gonna be a few days before I can use it again." Penn added.

"I'm so sorry." Del said.

"Why? It's not your fault." Penn whispered, before closing his eyes.

"Let him get some rest." Tex said, leading them out of the recovery room.

"Tex is right, he needs it." North said, using his comforting 'big brother' voice. With that, they left the room.

Over the next few days, Penn worked rehab with his arm. Eventually, he was able to use it, but he was still limited. Many things happened those next few days. Things like Maine getting shot in the throat. Wash took this the hardest, considering Maine was his best friend on the entire ship. Penn was usually around, and they become good friends.

Other than Del, Wash was the first person Penn turned to. They joked around, hung out, and even sparred each other. That all changed however, when Wash was scheduled for implantation.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"How's it doing today?" Omicron appeared next to Penn's shoulder. Penn was stretching his still injured, shoulder. It was slowly getting better, but he wasn't allowed to do anything.

"Still getting better."

"Scans indicate an increase of muscle recovery, by 15% from injury moment."

"Wow. A whole whopping 15%?"

"Hey, it could be worse."

"And how could it be worse, exactly?"

"You could have lost your arm. That would have been a lot worse." Penn thought about his AIs words.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I usually am." Penn gave the holographic mini-me a sarcastic look.

"Uh-huh, just like when you told me you weren't afraid of spiders?" Omicrons image flashed, and his voice was quickened.

"I just don't like their legs! Or their pincers, or their webs, or-"Om was cut off, Penn's door opening. Del walked in in, she was wearing full armor, except for her helmet. She walked up to him, and Penn put his good arm around her waist, pulling her into a deep kiss.

They remained like this, until Del began to giggle, and she pulled away.

"Stop! I have a mission." She said, grinning at him.

"Well then, good luck on your first mission agent Delaware." He responded sarcastically. Del smiled, and walked back to the door. Before she left, she turned back to him.

"We WILL continue this later though." She said, still grinning, before walking off.

Penn continued his stretches before walking to the mess hall. He still wasn't allowed to do any training, which majorly pissed him off. Today was Wash's implantation however, so that meant he wasn't going to be bored again.

Penn can see Wash sitting alone, at their usual table. All the other high ranking agents are currently on a mission. That was the same mission Del was going on. Penn gets some food, before sitting across from his blonde haired friend.

"Hey man, what's up?" Penn asks the other freelancer.

"Oh nothing, just thinking about _it_." Wash responded.

"It?"

"Yeah, the implantation. Mines today, remember?"

"Hell yeah! How could I forget? Wash is finally gonna get an AI!"

"I'm glad someone's excited." Wash grumbled.

"Why aren't you excited? Is this about all those inverted penis jokes York keeps telling you? I told you! That isn't true!" A small chuckle escapes Wash's mouth.

"I mean things like, Maine's headaches. He only got them _after_ he got Sigma."

"I can see where you're coming from, but it's going to be okay Wash. I'll be watching the whole thing, I promise." As Penn finished, the Counselor walked in, and headed for them.

"I guess it's time." Wash sighed.

"Yeah, you will be fine, trust me." Penn said, reassuring his friend. The Counselor walked up, and turned to Wash.

"Agent Washington, it is time for your implantation, please come with me." Wash stood up, and followed the Counselor, Penn close behind.

When they reached the operating room, Penn was asked to leave. So he went up to the observation room, that over looked the OR. The Director was already seated, and turned to Penn. Penn snapped a quick salute.

"At ease, agent." Penn sat down two chairs away from the Director.

In the OR, Wash was laid on a table. His head was held in place by small rods. Then the Doctors deactivated the artificial gravity. They pulled out a long cord, with a large needle at the end. Attached to the cord, was a small oval container, and it was pulsating blue.

There was a small jerk from Wash, as the needle was inserted to the base of his skull. The small oval began to pulse less, and less, until no color came from it at all. The Doctors removed the needle, and re engaged the artificial gravity.

Wash was laid on his back, in a sort of chair. He lay there, with his eyes closed.

"It really is an amazing process." The Director said.

"It's a little different when you're actually down there, sir." Penn replied. The Director didn't respond, instead he just kept his eyes on Wash.

Everything was going fine, until Wash woke up. He began screaming like a mad man. Kinda like when Penn occasionally snapped. He jumped up from the chair, and knocked back a doctor that was trying to restrain him. Another came up from behind him, and tried to hit him with a sedative.

Wash whipped around, and caught the doctor's hands. Then Wash pulled the needle out of the Doctors hand, and continued to stab him in the eye. The doctor fell to the floor, with a sickening thud. Wash kept attacking the Doctors, nurses, guards, anyone who dared to get close to him.

Penn stared in shock, at his friends actions. He turned to the Director, and the Director turned to him. The Director gave one, short nod, and Penn was instantly at the door to the OR. He flung the door open, and looked at Wash.

He was still holding the needle, but he was shaking. Penn looked into his eyes and couldn't find the old Wash, his friend. Now, he was replaced with this crazy man.

"Wash, its me, Penn." Pen said, taking a short step toward the other man. Wash didn't say a word, and instead lunged, the needle pointed at Penn's throat.


	20. Chapter 20

The needle narrowly missed Penn's throat, as he jumped sideways away from Wash. Penn tried to get behind him, but Wash whipped around and stabbed again. This time Penn grabbed Wash's hands before the needle hit his face.

Penn was pushed to the floor, with Wash on top of him. Penn was trying to keep the sharp object out of his face, but his arm impeded his efforts. Penn allowed Wash's hands to slip free and the force made Wash fall forward.

Penn rolled to the side, avoiding the needle yet again. He got to his feet, as Wash did the same. The two eyed each other, before Penn bolted out of the room with Wash at his heels.

The two freelancers ran down the hall, scaring a shit ton of marines along the way. Penn rounded a corner as Wash skidded around, not seconds behind him. Penn felt something heavy hit his back, before he was against the ground again.

Penn rolled so he was looking up. Wash was on top of him again, still holding the needle. He thrust downward, but Penn used his legs to kick Wash forward. The needle flew from his hands, as Wash was thrown off of Penn.

Wash scrambled across the floor, toward the blood stained medical tool. Penn was up first however, and kicked Wash in the gut. While Wash was stunned Penn went for the needle. Right as he was about to pick it up, a fist collided to the left side of his head, throwing him sideways.

He rolled a few feet before stopping, and seeing Wash about to pick up the needle. Penn shot to his feet and ran at Wash. He slammed into the other freelancer knocking them both to the floor. But this time Penn was on top.

He started landing hits to Wash's face. He kept punching as he felt the wall of anger start to overpower him. He tried to fight it, but most of his concentration was on Wash. The red haze started to consume him, until nothing was left but anger.

Penn pulled back his fist for another punch, but Wash kicked him forward. Penn landed on his back, as Wash started getting up. The two stood and faced each other. Wash had blood smeared across his hands, and face. Blood was also trickling from a cut above Penn's eye.

Wash was the first to move, in the manor of a sprint towards Penn. Penn ran head first toward Wash and they collided, each grabbing the others fists. Penn and Wash struggled against each other's strength. Bringing his knee into Wash's gut, Penn gained the advantage.

He continued to ram Wash into a nearby wall, before attacking his face. Penn started connecting his fist with Wash's face, again and again. Wash was able to catch Penn's fist, and he twisted downward causing Penn to go to his knees. Wash loaded up, and sent a fist crashing into Penn's face.

Penn was thrown back ward, and Wash advanced forward. He walked up to the now prone Penn, and looked down at him. He didn't attack however and instead walked away. Wash knelt down, and picked up the needle, then proceeded to walk back over to Penn who was still on the ground.

Wash was about to plunge the needle into Penn's back, when a voice rang out, deterring his focus.

"Put the weapon down and get on the ground! NOW!" A group of marines stood behind him, all holding pistols. Wash acted like he was dropping the needle, but instead he charged into the group.

Penn started slowly getting up, and he groaned. The force of Wash's hit had returned him to his normal self. He looked up and saw the carnage that was Wash murdering multiple marines. Blood splashed each time Wash swung the needle.

Penn stood up, and ran at the crazed freelancer. He managed to save a marine from the deadly point, as he collided with Wash. Penn felt a sharp pain in his uninjured arm. He go on his knees, and looked to his arm.

When he had hit Wash, the needle had embedded itself into his bicep. Tightly gripping the needle Penn pulled out quickly, letting out a grunt. The needle came free, along with a trail blood that oozed down his arm.

Penn looked up in time to Wash's knee in front of his face. He felt the pain as another blow was landed to his head. Penn was on his back in a second, and the needle was quickly coming toward his face.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The pelican entered the hangar bay, and landed on the ground. Tex was the first off the ship, followed by Carolina and the rest of the freelancers. They were met with blaring alarms and warning lights.

"What the hell is going on here?" York asks, stepping off the pelican.

"I'm not sure, but it can't be good." North responds. They walk out of the hangar, and into a long hall. A group of marines pushed past them, running full sprint. Carolina grabbed one, and spun him around.

"Where are you going soldier?" Carolina interrogated.

"Agents Washington and Pennsylvania are fighting, the Director has ordered all personal use lethal force." The marine says, before running off.

"Wash and Penn? It can't be." York says. His comment is unheard though, as the freelancers are already sprinting down the hall, following the marines.

"Why do I even try?" York says to himself, before sprinting after them.

Screams can be heard as the freelancers get closer to the action. They find themselves in the mess hall, and stand speechless.

Wash is covered in blood, and swinging a needle at Penn, who doesn't look much better. Wash swings again, but Penn grabs his wrist and twists. The needle drops to the floor, before Wash smashes Penn in the face with his elbow. Stumbling back, Penn catches himself on a table.

Wash charges forward, but is stopped when two strong arms grab him. Tex steps in front of him.

"This is for your own good." She says, before punching him in the face. Wash's head drops like a rock, as Maine picks him up. He carries Wash toward the med bay.

Penn is still leaning on the table, when the others come up to him.

"What happened?" Carolina asks. Penn tries to stand on his own, but dots fill his vision when he does. He falls forward, and can feel hands catching him before darkness engulfs him.

**A/N**

**Hey guys! Im sorry for the long wait, but this chapter kinda stumped me. I still don't like it very much, and im sorry its short, I wanted to give you guys something. Anyway, thanks for reading!**


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